Children of Hydra
by AsgardianGrizzly
Summary: Some are orphans. Others were tortured. Some are mutilated. All of them suffered. All Coulson knows is that 2 weeks ago when Fury sent a team in to rescue all of Hydra's prisoners Fury claimed that his team had rescued them all. But he had lied. Now it's up to Coulson and his Team to save them and train them. Even if they're the Children of Hydra. (SYOC CLOSED)
1. Chapter 1

**Before I get into the details of this SYOC here's a small prologue.**

 **Prologue:**

* * *

Children aren't like they were back in Coulson's day. They're more intelligent, more aware, darker. Many kids have suffered unimaginable pain. Many still are. SHIELD has been fighting HYDRA since as long as Coulson could remember. He knew what HYDRA was known to do if they ever found survivors. What he didn't know was that SHIELD never really saved all of HYDRA's prisoners in the mission that took place 2 weeks ago. No. Fury had lied. There had been 4 prisoners that were unaccounted for. 4 prisoners that were either dead or about to be. And it was up to Coulson to save them.

* * *

 **Hey guys, so I know that I have a few stories going on right now, and that I don't have the best track record with continuing stories…hehe….*smiles guiltily*, but you guys have NO IDEA how much of a Marvel Nerd I am. And trust me, I will not give up on this one. It might go on hiatus, but there's no way I'm giving up on it. So as you may have suspected, this is an SYOC and I would like to ask for some characters. I need 4 OCs for the main Children of Hydra, 4 Allies for the team and 4 Villains (1 main, 3 bodyguard/servant/warrior/etc). BE CREATIVE. If you think that something is too crazy or extreme or dark, it's NOT. Just don't be ridiculous. Don't go: "Uh…he can live through anything and shoot lasers out of his ears."**

 **(-_-)**

 **No.**

 **SO! If you're all as excited as I am! The form is posted below and on my profile. I am only accepting submissions through PM. Here's the form. Please be descriptive and creative and don't rush. Thanks.**

 **ALSO: NO COPYCATS and I don't need a bajillion 0-8-4s.**

 **Credit for majority of the form goes to Fanfictionia.**

 **-AG**

 **:)**

* * *

 **Name:**

 **Age (no younger than 12, no older than 18):**

 **Species (0-8-4/Human/Alien):**

 **Job (ally/team member/villain):**

 **Abilities (power wise):**

 **Abilities (weaponry):**

 **Hair (length/color):**

 **Eye (color):**

 **Facial Features (straight jawline, braces, etc):**

 **Bodily Appearance (skinny, overweight/muscular, not):**

 **Skin Color (olive, dark, shadowed, pale, etc):**

 **Height:**

 **Scars (include how they got them)/birthmarks/piercings:**

 **Personality:**

 **Skills:**

 **Likes:**

 **Dislikes:**

 **Fears:**

 **Friends:**

 **Enemies:**

 **History (love a good backstory):**

 **How they arrived at Hydra:**

 **What Hydra did to them (torture, testing, etc):**

 **Relationship (open to, not open to):**

 **Something your character would say that describes their personality ("Let's just kill them", etc):**

 **Other info:**

* * *

 **Alright, well, the faster you get characters in, the faster we begin. My other SYOC: The Other Glade, it's a Maze Runner Story, everyone responded within the first half an hour and we got started quite quickly (currently at 48 chapters).**

 **:) Super excited. PM me any questions.**


	2. Character List

Character Update-

 **Submit submit submit! We've only got two spots left! Two allies! Just so everyone knows, I increased the amount of villains to 6 because I received 5 amazing villains and I think I like having more heroes than villains, it adds an interesting story. Keep in mind that the allies can be allies to the team, past Hydra agents, mercenaries that were hired. I love variety! Please PLEASE be creative! Thanks for submitting! Here's the updated list, chapter 1 will be up sometime today.**

 **Update (1.23.16) I've gone back and updated with the full list of characters. :)**

* * *

 **Team Members**

 **Piper Dawn Harpers – lauraosnes**

 **Drew Pond – MysteryAgain**

 **Eleanor May Hayes – ABO**

 **Lachlan Butler – BiggerGuilmonmon**

 **Spencer Cassidy - AOSshipper**

 **Tamashi Kinzoku - AsgardianGrizzly (me)**

 **Allies**

 **Marie Peters – AwesomeGirl**

 **Pat Coren – VballPanda**

 **Skylier Knight - Skylier**

 **Victor Valentine - scrawlx1012**

 **Lana Thalmow - Chloe999**

 **Faith "Killer" Anna-Marie Lakewood - ATcat**

 **Villains**

 **Kris Stefans - Nefertam**

 **Aeron - Elianora Annora**

 **Emma Johnson – AOSISMYLIFE**

 **Naia Cardillo – Elianora Annora**

 **Dragunov – SouthernSinforian**

 **Daedre G'thulic – Xy-Guy**

 **Daniel Aumeir - TakenPenNames**

 **Vandella Scritz - Fanfictionia**

* * *

 **IF YOU SUBMITTED A CHARACTER PLEASE READ BELOW**

 **I forgot to ask for the characters aliases. Please PM me or reply with their alias. If you've already done it (I know who did and didn't) than don't worry about it. Also, AwesomeGirl and AOSISMYLIFE I need your character's last names please.**

 **Thanks,**

 **Update soon,**

 **-AG**


	3. the Beginning

Chapter 1-

 **Here we are with chapter 1! I hope this lets you get a feel for my writing. Hope you all enjoy it. Thank you all for your submissions. All spots have been filled! YAY! Thank you guys SO much for submitting so quickly!**

 **MAKE SURE TO CHECK MY PROFILE FOR LIST UPDATES**

 **Quickly: Does anyone know what photokinesis is? I have a character who has it as a power. Secondly, AOSSHIPPER and Xy-Guy you guys sent in characters with the same powers, are either of you willing to change it? If not, no big deal, your characters are on opposite sides. Please PM me and let me know. Doesn't matter to me.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any OCs or Omega Point. I changed Omega Point's location.**

 _FURY SECRET BASE 8_

" _THE PLAYGROUND"_

 _USA_

Coulson entered the meeting room casually. Lance Hunter walked behind him, the mercenary/agent keeping his eyes peeled for any sign that he should proceed with caution. The agent and mercenary were met by three others: Gonzales, May and Bobbi Morse. The two women stood behind the older man, both with glares of their own. May glaring at Coulson and Bobbi glaring at Hunter.

"You wanted to chat?" Coulson asked casually, covering his caution with a nonchalant tone.

"I did," Gonzales replied.

May continued, walking over to the holo-table at one end of the meeting room she began talking calmly, "I assume you heard about Fury's mission 2 weeks ago?"

"The one in Italy, yeah?" Hunter answered.

"Correct," Bobbi replied, "Fury sent in a team of 20 specialists to infiltrate Hydra's base, Omega Point, and extract an unknown number of prisoners that were being held in an underground facility beneath the base."

"I'm sure you've read the mission report, Agent Coulson," Gonzales stated shortly.

"I did," Coulson responded, "The file stated that the mission was a failure, what's the problem?"

"Fury lied," May said emotionlessly. Coulson froze and stared at her.

When he didn't answer, Hunter stepped up, "About what exactly?"

May swiped her hand upwards above the holo-table and a blue 3d image appeared, hovering above the table. The image was of a series of sentences, obviously the mission report. "The report states that 'all targets are deceased due to the collapse of Omega Point'. We have reason to believe that that statement is false."

"What _reason_ is that?" Coulson demanded. He wasn't fond of the idea that Fury had lied to him.

"3 Hours ago S.H.I.E.L.D. video footage picked up this on one of Omega Point's video cams," Bobbi continued, nodding to May, who pulled up a video on the holo-table. Lance and Coulson walked over to get a better look.

On the screen a man clad in green and yellow SWAT-like armor and goggles strode swiftly across the screen. He had a rather large AK-47 strapped across his shoulders and he was clutching his right thigh, obviously in pain.

"Wait," Hunter spoke up, "What's in his hand?"

"Good, I'm glad you caught that," Bobbi nodded, "That's a key."

"A key?" Coulson repeated, "For what?"

Bobbi gestured to the screen and Coulson focused back on it. The Hydra agent continued limping along until he reached a door. He slid the key into a lock in the door and—the video feed cut.

"Why do you think that there are still prisoners?" Coulson inquired, staring at the black screen with a confused look, "There could have been anything through that door."

"That's what we thought as well," May chimed, "But then we took a closer look."

May swiped her finger across the screen and the video began rewinding at a slow, lagging, pace. May paused it and double tapped to zoom in. A blurry white splotch was on the door, roughly the shape of a rectangle. Coulson and Hunter squinted, trying to get a better look. It took a moment, but the computer analyzed the picture and cleared it up, making it readable.

Turns out the white splotch was a plaque. The white plaque was rectangular and had black letters scrawled over it. With a closer look Coulson managed to pick out the letters:

 **Kovalchuk**

"What the bloody hell does that mean?" Hunter questioned, looking as confused as ever.

"We think it might be a surname," Bobbi informed, "We searched the database for a list of people with that name and then narrowed the search to police reports." Bobbi typed swiftly on a keyboard connected to the holo-table and then pulled up a small list with a picture next to each name.

May continued, "The first is a man named Dmitri Kovalchuk."

"We immediately took him off the suspects because we caught video feed of him with his family at the time of the Omega Point's infiltration," Bobbi filled.

"Next we have Evgeny Kovalchuk, seen at work at the same time as the attack," May stated, scrolling through the list, "Lena Kovalchuk, Nika Kovalchuk, Vaska Kovalchuk, all seen in various places at the time of the mission."

"What about this…uh…Stani…Stanis…Stonis…Stan…" Hunter trailed.

"Stanislav Kovalchuk," Bobbi corrected, earning a glare from the mercenary. "We're unsure about his whereabouts, but he is the most likely suspect."

"Why is that? You said you didn't have a fix on his location," Coulson prodded, raising an eyebrow.

"Well," May crossed her arms, "Kovalchuk was born in Osovyny, Ukraine."

"And?" Hunter urged.

"12 years ago, Osovyny was burned to the ground by a Russian Missile test gone awry," Gonzales said in his stern tone. Coulson had almost forgotten he was there, due to the lack of speech. "There were no survivors."

"Well then we're at a dead end," Coulson deflated.

"The reason we called you in here, Agent Coulson, is not so that you could get confused and start brooding," Gonzales said. Hunter stifled a laugh and looked away when everyone glared at him. "We need you to get a team together and go search through what's left of the building. You find anything, you extract it and bring it back here."

"I'll get my team," Coulson nodded at Hunter and the two exited the room.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Unknown Location_

 _Roughly 8 Miles From Omega Point_

An exhausted group of kids, aged 16-18, stumbled through the snow riddled Alps. The group was being led by a wounded Hydra soldier named Andre. The Hydra agent was wounded, he had been shot in the upper calf at long range.

Leading the group, in place of Andre, was a 6 ft tall athletic teen, one of the older ones for sure. A usually messy swarm of blonde hair had been shaved down to a military cut on his head and his grey blue eyes faded in against his tan skin. He wore a black combat suit, like most of the others. The suits didn't provide any protection against the cold, but the teen fought through it, holding the AK-47 that Andre had given him carefully.

Behind the older teen stumbled a small 16 year old. Her large brown eyes glimmered in the moonlight and her artificially dyed bright red hair was whipping her face in the harsh wind. She stumbled and tumbled into the snow, her hands biting from frost. She shivered and regained her footing, gaining no help from the others.

"Fastidio goffo," another 17 year old female teen muttered at the 16 year old. The 17 year old was obviously annoyed, her arms folded and fists clenched. Her long straight black hair had been drawn back into a high ponytail and dug her nails into her fists, the only piece of her mocha colored skin—minus her face—that could be seen under the combat suit.

After the Italian 17 year old came an pretty African American 17 year old girl. Her red and yellow hair had been drawn back in a messy French braid and even her normally playful and flirty personality had been drained down to an annoyed cold tone. Her red eyes glowed in the silvery moonlight and she gritted her teeth, just wanting to get to wherever they were going quickly.

Lastly came a tall older teen with medium length black hair that seemed to be styled by a professional. He seemed oblivious to the cold and strode forwards much like the first boy. His bright yellow eyes seemed to cut through the wind and snow and stare deep into whoever they lay upon. He blended with the snow lightly because of his pale sky blue skin. Unusual symbols covered his face and he remained calm, even with the wind biting his skin.

As the group stumbled along all they could think about was who had attacked Hydra, and if they were next up on the list.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Wreckage of Omega Point_

Underneath over 20,000 pounds of rock and metal, caped in pitch black, a form was trapped in a small hollowed out area. He lay on his back, unable to sit up or move around much. The rubble was barely suspended over his form, supported by one measly metal support.

The 16 year old's raggedy black hair had been dirtied and a seemingly never ending trail of rock dust was sprayed over his light skin and the maroon stripes that tattooed his body. He coughed once and let out another cry. His deep maroon eyes watering from the dust and grit that had fallen into them.

"Help!" he shouted.

"D—Drew?" a female voice stuttered.

The boy jerked at the sound of another voice. He thought he was trapped alone. He had thought the others were dead, crushed under the wreckage.

"Eleanor?" the boy coughed, "Is that you?"

A sniffle came, "Ya, it's me."

"Are you alright?" the 16 year old asked the younger 13 year old, "Where are you?"

"I don't know," Eleanor replied shakily. "I'm stuck. It hurts a lot, Drew." The girl choked on a sob.

"Hey, it's okay, we're gonna get out of here," Drew urged, although he didn't believe a single word he was saying. He gently moved his hand against the shards of rock and metal that encased his right side and found a small crevice. He shoved his hand through and felt around. A moment later his fingers brushed some fabric.

"Something's on me! I think it's a bug! Get it off!" Eleanor shrieked.

"Relax! Relax!" Drew shouted, "It's just me!"

Eleanor let out a breath and a moment later he felt a hand lock into his own. He sighed in relief.

"Are you alright, Drew? Did anything get you?" Eleanor inquired quietly.

The 16 year old felt around for a moment, "I don't—" he cut off as a sharp pain ran through his shoulder. He let out a gasp.

"Are you okay?" Eleanor asked urgently.

"I—I'm fine Ellie," he nodded, mainly to himself, "I'm good. Sorry. I—uh—I thought I felt something."

 **Alright, how did I do?! Please let me know via review! I think I'll be able to get the next chapter up within today, otherwise tomorrow. I'll let you know that I have 2 other stories going so I don't really have a defined schedule. Secondly, I would like you all to know that I also don't enjoy flames, so please don't.**

 **But I do love recommendations on what you'd like to happen in the story!**

 **Let me know what you all thought!**

 **I'll update soon!**

 **By the way: the Italian used in this chapter means: clumsy annoyance.**

 **And don't worry, just because your character didn't make an appearance in this chapter doesn't mean they weren't accepted. What were your first impressions on every character? How did I do with Coulson?**

 **-AG**


	4. Recovery

Chapter 2-

 **Thank you to everyone for all of the positive comments! I would like to announce that the submissions are: OFFICIALLY CLOSED. I've got tons of characters (a lot more than my original maximum, which is fine) and I'm super excited about this story!**

 **A couple questions for Guest reviewers:**

 **AwesomeGirl: What is Marie's last name?**

 **Skylier: Does Skylier have an alias?**

 **AOSISMYLIFE: Does Emma have an alias?**

 **Let's get on with it already!**

 _Wreckage of Omega Point_

Lachlan knew something was wrong when the entire building shook. He had been walking with a few guards down one of the corridors when it had happened. A massive earthquake, a tremble that shook his bones and vibrated his teeth, a quake that had collapsed the building.

His entire body had ached, terrible pulses of pain that chilled his blood but burned his skin. This was all a result of the symbiote that had been bonded to his body only a short month ago. The symbiote wasn't always painful, only when it was mad or in pain. That's what it was now, in pain. This rarely happened. Anguish—a name Hydra had come up with for the chemical mass that fused with his body—was barely ever scared, much less in pain. But now, as Lachlan lay unconscious in the mess of the Hydra base, with only his thoughts and Anguish to keep him company, the symbiote was in pain.

And it burned like hell.

Lachlan groaned and moved his rickety aching bones. He was laying on the dirtied snow, snow had obviously recently fallen because his bare feet were frost covered and his curly brown hair was frozen in jagged pieces. He grumbled again and attempted sitting up. He wasn't out in the open, however, he was underneath a series of broken pieces of glass, steel and concrete. They weren't quite on top of him, and or pinning him down, but they were hanging by a thread—quite literally, a thin cable was creaking and pulled tight from the weight. Lachlan cautiously slid out of the small space on his back and stood up, edges of pain shooting through his frozen feet as he stood.

He fell to his knees and winced as his hands made contact with the chilling snow. Lachlan let out a chilly breath of air and only then did he realize that he had landed right by a pair of feet. He looked up, his frozen neck burning with every movement.

"Sir!" a voice—probably belonging to the feet—shouted. "I've got one over here!"

Lachlan's eyes closed as his arms gave out and he fell into the snow, shivering.

"Good job Fitz," another voice, a deeper—and probably older—voice greeted.

"Thanks," Lachlan now recognized that the younger man was Scottish. He'd met a few Scots in his lifetime. There were a few Scottish Hydra agents. His teeth chattered as someone flipped him over onto his back.

"How's he looking Simmons?" the older man asked.

"He's showing the early signs of Hypothermia," Simmons replied, "He needs to get somewhere of high temperature, and quickly."

Only moments later, after being rushed onto a stretcher and into someplace else, did warmth begin to return to his body. He had been attacked by blankets and he felt something hot taped to both of his upper arms. Lachlan struggled to open his frozen eyelids and glanced around the large vehicle that he realized he was in.

Two scientists or doctors were talking at one side of the vehicle. The vehicle itself reminded Lachlan of some sort of tech-tastic RV. It was roomy but futuristic, computer screens covered many of the walls and he was laying on a black cot on the floor.

He tuned into the conversation that the scientists were having. "So if we multiply the variable—10.4—by the possibility rate—70.3%-and then divide that by pi you get…" the male doctor pulled out a calculator.

"23.2841—rounding," Lachlan recited, completing the problem effortlessly.

Two pairs of eyes snapped over to him, staring in surprise. "Umm…yes…thank you…" the man said awkwardly, glancing at the calculator and then back at Lachlan. Lachlan cocked his head.

"Where are we?" He asked, beginning to unwrap the thick encasement of blankets.

"Safe," the female scientist replied. He recognized the voice from earlier.

"Specifically," Lachlan urged, standing up and shaking out his arms, removing the—as he realized—heating pads from his biceps.

"You're in a S.H.I.E.L.D. mobile base, or an SMB," the girl replied, "I'm Jemma Simmons and this is Jonathan Benelou."

"If you don't mind, we would like to bring someone in to ask you a few questions," Jonathan inquired kindly.

Lachlan gave an uneasy look but nodded, "What's the problem. Don't trust _little old me_?" Lachlan sang in a joking matter.

Jonathan swallowed hard and gave a look that showed, 'that wasn't reassuring…at all…' Lachlan grinned awkwardly, trying to ease the mood, but Jonathan scurried out of the room. A moment later a man walked in. He looked older than the other two, in a fancy business suit.

"Hello," the man greeted calmly. Lachlan nodded, recognizing the voice from earlier. "I'm Agent Coulson."

"Lachlan Butler," Lachlan replied cautiously.

The man's eyes sparked with something. He continued casually—obviously hoping that Lachlan hadn't noticed, but he had. "What's wrong?" Lachlan asked.

The man—Coulson—continued in a professional manor, ignoring the question, "Were there any other prisoners?"

Lachlan avoided the question, just as Coulson had, "Can I trust you?"

"Well we did just save you from turning into an igloo® cooler," Coulson paused, seeing the expression on Lachlan's face. "Hydra didn't have those?" Lachlan shook his head. "Huh." Coulson raised his eyebrows.

Lachlan was so lost. First this guy is all stern and refuses to answer questions, then he starts cracking dry jokes? "Piper." Lachlan sighed after a long pause of figuring everything out.

"What?" Coulson questioned, signaling for the female scientist…Sam…Simon…Simmons! Yes, signaling for Simmons to come over and take notes.

"Piper. Drew. Eleanor. Spencer. Tamashi." Lachlan continued, staring at nothing in particular as he remembered his friends. Jemma wrote down the names as he listed them.

"Is that all?" Jemma inquired.

Lachlan sighed, "That's all the decent ones. Now we have the 7 dwarves. Except there's eight of them…and they're all Grumpy…" Lachlan weakly grinned, "Emma. Naia. Daedre. Rebecca. Dragunov. They were bringing in someone new a few days ago but we never met them. That's all I know of, but I'm sure they had more…"

"Double the search teams," Coulson commanded Simmons, "Tell them we're looking for 10 individuals. 5 female and 5 male."

Simmons nodded and scampered away and Lachlan got up, "I'm helping."

Jonathan shook his head, looking for any excuse, "No, you can't, you don't have the proper gear!"

Lachlan interrupted him, "Right, right, get me my good underwear. Then let's go."

Jonathan deflated. "Umm…"

Lachlan rolled his eyes. _Come on out Anguish_. He said silently. The familiar cold feeling covered his body as the symbiote emerged, wrapping around him and entering his ears and groping up his arms and legs. He was momentarily blocked of air and then he let out a gasp as it returned after Anguish finished covering his face.

 _ **Hello Mr. Butler. May I be of service?**_ Lachlan could feel Anguish mentally grinning as he spat sarcastically, _**perhaps some tea with a lemon?**_

 _Ya, ya, ya,_ Lachlan shot back, _just shut up. We're gonna go help some of the others._

Jonathan, Simmons and Coulson stared at him and he shrugged casually, "What? Is there something on my face?"

Coulson smirked, Jonathan paled and Simmons' eyes glimmered with interest.

"Well alright then," Coulson grinned, "Let's get moving."

* * *

Lachlan stared at the back of the Scottish man…Fitz…as the two walked around. Fitz was using a scanning device to look for life signs and if they found any Lachlan would lift the rubble. Lachlan liked Fitz so far, he was nice, funny, friendly. He was definitely a lot more quiet. Lachlan had noticed he had a stutter, more of a stumble. He would lose words and get frustrated. He was really smart, that Lachlan could tell, but he didn't seem like the strongest.

 _ **You could snap his neck. Ya, let's do that. Let's just do it. No one will notice. In fact, you can blame it on me if you want. Even say it was my fault,**_ Anguish baited.

 _It would be your fault_ , Lachlan shot back.

Anguish cackled, _**And yet it would be your hands that do it.**_

He could do it. He could do it and no one would see. He hadn't seen blood in a while. He hadn't heard the sound of bones splitting and breaking. Oh that beautiful noise. Yes, he'd do it. He'd do it—

He had to stop. Anguish was getting leverage. He took a few breaths and shoved the thought down, deep, deep inside.

A sudden beeping helped break Anguish's concentration and he let up. Fitz signaled for Lachlan to come forwards and he agreed, walking forwards and beginning to dig through the heavy rubble.

"You have five seconds to run before I make your eardrums _bleed_ ," a calm female voice threatened.

"Geez Piper, you're not going soft are you? I thought you'd say something like," he dropped his tone to a deep gruff voice, " _You better run or I'm gonna tear your eardrums out of your head and shove them into your—"_

"Oh hi Lachlan," Piper replied kindly, "Sorry. I thought you were some of the Hydra Geeks."

"Yup that's me, the geekiest Hydra member to live," Lachlan grinned under his living body armor as he continued digging. He finally saw a hint of a light olive arm coated in dust. A moment later he unveiled a smiling face with blue eyes and knotted brown hair.

Lachlan reached down and helped Piper out.

"Thanks," Piper smiled. Lachlan nodded. Piper suddenly froze as she caught sight of Fitz. She growled and opened her mouth, ready to show her power—a deafening scream.

"WOAH!" Lachlan shouted quickly, Piper choked in surprise, coughing and sputtering. "He's one of the good guys."

"Oh, sorry," Piper smiled genuinely, her mood instantly changing, while Fitz was still paled with fear. "I'm Piper Dawn Harpers. And you are?"

"Fitz-Leo Fitz…I work for…I'm a…I do the…I'm a…" Fitz trailed, looking confused.

"Engineer," Lachlan filled kindly.

"Yeah," Fitz nodded, "Engineer."

"Nice to meet you," Piper smiled.

"Do you have any idea where the others could be?" Lachlan asked.

"No, but I heard a group of people walking above me when I was under there. 5 or 6 I think…I recognized Naia and Daedre's voices," Piper responded, "I called for help and Naia looked at me, even! But…she…she walked away…"

Lachlan put a hand reassuringly on Piper's shoulder and turned back to Fitz.

"We should update Coulson on our status," he recommended.

"Right," Fitz agreed, carefully leading Piper back to the SMB vehicle.

 **Alright, so this was a shorter chapter circled around one character in specific: Lachlan Butler, submitted by Biggerguilmonmon. Firstly I would like to say that some chapters will be like this and others won't, it all depends on how the chapter flows as I write it. I know this chapter wasn't the** _ **most**_ **exciting chapter but trust me, as soon as the team meets up it will be a lot more adventurous.**

 **I know I told you guys I would post yesterday but I had a Scholastic Award Ceremony to go to (I won the silver key! Yay!) and then today it was a family member's birthday (and I saw Avengers 2 for the second time! Yay!) and thus I couldn't update as fast. I think my schedule has taken a chill pill and so hopefully I will update a little quicker.**

 **Thank you all for the positive feedback!**

 **I'll update soon!**

 **Let me know how you liked Lachlan and who you'd like too see more of—goodguys or badguys.**

 **:)**

 **-AG**


	5. Coping

Chapter 3-

 **Hey guys, so someone requested to see a bit more of the badguys, and so that is just what I'm going to do—but first we have a few more heroes to meet. Keep in mind that if your villain hasn't come in yet it's because they will play another—possibly larger—role in the story a little later on, after the team is assembled.**

 **NOTICE: PLEASE READ: Okay, so I realize that I have 3 people with telekinesis and 3 with telepathy. The first people to submit a person with those powers are:**

 **Telepathy: Ellianora Annora**

 **Telekinesis: AwesomeGirl**

 **The rest are: Chloe999, life among the dead and skylier.**

 **I have come up with new powers for your characters, if you're interested. Please say yes or no, ASAP.**

 **Chloe999: She can possess other people, taking over their bodies and having their voice and memories.**

 **Life among the Dead: Since your character already has so many powers, I figured that we could just minus that one and Teleportation and just have her be an enhanced human (no one else did that)**

 **Skylier: Her new power could be the ability to go through walls, objects, even people, without harm**

 **Let me know, please.**

 **IMPORTANT: Quickly, I forgot to mention that this is kind of an AU. It takes place a ways after what's going on in the show right now, so Skye's back and everything's settled and all that, but they're all still the same age. (Confusing, I know, but just bear with me). Also, I have a Japanese character that mainly speaks Japanese. I didn't write the symbols I wrote what it sounds like (or what Google translate says it does) and I did my best to explain what he says without actually translating it.**

 **Now then, shall we?**

 _Wreckage of Omega Point_

Piper carefully drew back her light brown hair, pulling it into a ponytail. She peered into the small mirror S.H.I.E.L.D. had provided, satisfied after cleaning the dirt and dust off of her face. A diamond shaped scar peeked out from the side of her neck and bruises had begun to form on the left side of her face—from the impact of the building collapse. It was late and cold, so she grabbed a black jacket.

"What are you doing in there? Defusing a nuke?" Lachlan's voice called.

Piper sighed, "Oh be quiet! Back in Hydra you took hours in the morning! And all you had to do was brush your teeth!"

"Anguish insists on good dental hygiene!" Lachlan joked.

"Uh huh, keep using it as an excuse," Piper called back, unlocking the door and walking out.

Lachlan cat-called, "Man, those scars really work for you. It gives you kind of a murderous, warrior-queen look." He smirked.

"Oh, shut up," Piper laughed, "Now come on. We've got work to do."

Piper was 3 years younger than Lachlan, but she had always felt like his older sister, the one that helped him with his pranks and plots but kept him out of trouble. Sometimes it was hard to believe that the taller boy was the oldest in the group.

Now they were looking for the dead corpses of their fallen friends. The ones that were either buried under 100 tons of rock unmoving, or the ones that were buried under 100 tons of rock in pain. Either one wouldn't be good, but the second was preferred. After Piper's announcement that half the group—they had figured out that Emma, Dragunov and Rebecca were with Naia and Daedre based on footprint sizes—had left the other half to die S.H.I.E.L.D. had narrowed the search for the remaining four: Drew Pond, Eleanor Hayes, Spencer Cassidy and Tamashi Kinzoku.

So Piper got to work, dialing down her scream so that it wasn't fatal, she released her ear-splitting shriek on a series of boulders and they exploded into a series of pebbles. Meanwhile, Lachlan began lifting and throwing large rocks with ease. Slowly but surely the two began making their way to the ground.

* * *

Piper found the first victim of the day, it was Eleanor: a sweet 13 year old with curly cherry-brown hair and bright green eyes. She looked up and beamed a smile that any boy couldn't resist.

"Piper!" the girl chirped in surprise, "Took you long enough!"

Piper smiled and began digging the girl out. A sudden rumble and a shout stopped her in her tracks. "Who was that?!" she demanded, frantically looking at the almost uncovered girl.

"It was Drew!" Eleanor realized, "He's right next to me! He said he was fine!"

"Obviously he lied," Lachlan announced as he ran up, "Hey dude, you good?"

"Peachy," a response through gritted teeth.

Lachlan and Piper looked at each other and back down at Eleanor.

"Get Ellie out of here," Drew commanded, "I have an idea, but I can't have Eleanor here."

"Aw crap," Piper cursed, knowing what he was thinking. She cawed at the last boulder, blasting it to smithereens and pulled out Eleanor.

"MOVE!" she shouted urgently to the surrounding agents, who gave her confused looks but scattered nonetheless. Lachlan grabbed Eleanor and made a break for it, Piper at his heels. The two ducked behind a S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicle and waited for it to happen.

Then it did.

Thousands of chunks of rock flew into the air, flying in all different directions and landing in several places. A few people shouting in pain, others in surprise, a couple stared in shock at the messy rugged-edged crater that had formed directly around where Drew was laying. Piper got up and ran towards Drew while Lachlan ran in the opposite direction, handing Eleanor to a S.H.I.E.L.D. medic before turning around and chasing Piper.

Piper reached Drew momentarily and looked down into the crater. Drew's green shirt had been ripped off. Maroon stripes tattooed his face and torso. But these weren't ordinary tattoos. They stuck out—no off his skin like arms. Drew hadn't used his own arms to destroy the rock and throw it off into the distance, that had been his extra arms—the tattoos that swarmed his body and face.

But that wasn't the only thing, a large metal rod—probably part of an old support—was sticking out of the ground, pinning Drew's shoulder to the ground. Piper jumped down into the hole and Lachlan followed her in, the two were trailed by a couple S.H.I.E.L.D. doctors, who got to work on Drew.

Lachlan looked at Drew in a worried brotherly manor and Piper made her decision. "Lach, stay here with Drew. I'll keep searching for the others." She offered.

"You sure?" Lachlan asked uncertainly.

"Sure," Piper nodded, "Not like I've got anything better to do."

Lachlan smiled in agreement, "Okay."

Piper turned and started walking. The Omega Point facility was massive, one of the biggest Hydra bases there was. The only reason S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't found it before this was because of Hydra hacking a small portion of the S.H.I.E.L.D. data-base and writing in the weekly reports that nothing was found in this area, nothing but snow and mountain ranges.

Piper had walked in on them accidentally as they were filing the report once. They hadn't liked that. They had electrocuted her for it. But the volts that had run through her veins were nothing compared to the stuff they done to her when she had first come. The worst part of it was that she could never scream because they muzzled her, like a dog.

When she had first arrived they had threatened to cut out her vocal cords, but—luckily for her—one of the scientists said he needed them in place and working if he was to continue studying. He was a lot nicer than the scientists that her parents were.

A lot nicer than Piper's parents, the people who had tortured her and killed her brother. Her brother. Dominic. She missed him. He had taken care of her. He was her brother, but he also acted as her father, her mother, her cousin, and her uncle and aunt all in one. He had been her family and now he was dead.

Piper hadn't realized she was bleeding. Her nails had dug so far into her palms that they had drawn blood. She sighed, releasing a little tension from her shoulders and wiping her palms on her black pants. She glanced up at the sky and saw that the moon had moved, it had been at least half an hour. She missed Dominic. Now the depressing ache had returned to her heart, like a punch to the gut. She needed a distraction. And that was just what she got.

Suddenly literally out of nowhere, two figures appeared. One moment the space was empty, the next moment—after a quiet 'bamf' sound—two figured populated the space.

The first had close cropped bronze hair that gleamed in the moonlight. He had bright hazel eyes and a well-built body that—even in the dark—anyone could tell was strong. Back in the old days Piper had seen him every day at lunch hour, a humorous smile on his face, but now his eyes were filled with worry and pain. The boy's face had many cuts and scars, all dripping blood, and his hands were shaking hard. His red t-shirt was stained with blood and his jeans were torn up, his sneakers old and ratty.

The second boy was being supported by the first. He had a round face and olive skin. The boy was also muscular and his deep green eyes appeared black in the dim light. Piper spoke with this boy often because she was the only one that could understand him when he spoke in his native tongue. The boy's choppy black hair was tangled and his white shirt was stained with blood as well. He was also shaking, violently so. A metallic shine reflected in the boy's right arm, revealing to all those that asked that his arm was indeed made of metal.

The two of them collapsed at once, the first falling to his hands and knees and the other falling onto his stomach.

"Spencer! Tamashi!" Piper yelped, finally regaining control of her body. "Over here!" she called out into the air, "I found the last two!"

A S.H.I.E.L.D. team came running over, along with Eleanor, Lachlan and a bandaged up Drew.

"We need some light!" a gruff S.H.I.E.L.D. doctor ordered.

"Alright," Eleanor said calmly. She closed her eyes and suddenly her entire body began to glow, her eyes glowed eerie yellow while the rest of her body lit up like a dim lantern, or a glow stick.

Everyone blinked, letting their eyes adjust, and stared at Eleanor for a moment before continuing their work. Four of the men carried two stretchers, obviously ready in case of this situation. They moved one boy onto each and began working as they walked, Eleanor jogging to keep up with their fast paced powerwalk.

"Pulse is weak," said one.

"This one's is normal," said another.

"Showing signs of combustion and possibly psychological trauma on both subjects," a female doctor said into a Walkie-talkie-like device.

"Ma'am," one addressed Piper and she looked up at him, trying to keep pace. "Do you know these two? Can we have their names? Director Coulson is requesting them."

"Tamashi Kinzoku," Piper panted, tired from all of the action, she pointed at the Asian boy, "and Spencer Cassidy," she pointed at the bronze haired boy.

He repeated the response into the communication device, "Bring the patients to Director Coulson's SMB, we can treat them there. The Director wants to talk to them all to stay in his SMB on the way back to the Playground."

Piper gave a questioning look but she was exhausted and didn't feel like asking. Instead, she kept pace and tried not to pass out in the commotion of the next 3 hours.

* * *

Piper jerked awake, she assumed she had dozed off at some point and sat up, realizing that her head had been lying on someone's shoulder. She looked up worriedly and gasped as she realized it was Lachlan.

"Sorry," she apologized, "I was tired."

He shrugged in response, looking wary himself. Piper drew her gaze over the large room and realized that they were moving, she could feel it under her feet. They were currently sitting on a round black couch in a vast room filled with electronics. A desk sat at one end while a bar lay across the edge of another wall. They were in some sort of medium-sized office.

"Where…" Piper muttered.

"A S.H.I.E.L.D. Mobile Base, SMB if you will," Lachlan replied.

She blinked a couple times and noticed for the first time that she wasn't alone. While Lachlan sat on her right side, another boy sat on her left: Drew. Drew's shirt had been removed, showing a strong body and revealing a series of bandages over his shoulder and maroon stripes crisscrossing his body.

On Drew's left was Eleanor, who looked tired and dazed but was no longer glowing. On Lachlan's right sat Tamashi, who was shirtless as well—which showed off his six pack—and a few burns and singes over his sides and back, it also showed his silvery metal arm which was attached to his body with a series of painful looking stitches and bolts. Finally, on Tamashi's right, was Spencer who had plenty of bandages but it seemed like his hands had stopped shaking. Although his bronze hair was disheveled and he had a pained look behind his eyes, he seemed for the most part okay.

Every single one of them was covered in scars, but that had become natural. Piper looked up as Coulson walked over.

"It's good to see that, as far as we know, all of you made it out alive," Coulson smiled in a friendly manor.

"Why are you keeping us here?" Spencer demanded.

"Or better yet, when can we leave?" Lachlan corrected, going into serious mode.

Coulson ignored Lachlan's question, "We're keeping you here because we hear you have some…supernatural abilities, and we'd like to know a little more about how Hydra got their hands on you."

Coulson took a moment and glanced at Tamashi, "Also I'm a bit interested in his arm." Tamashi glared at him. "Okay, fine, I get it, don't trust the guys in the black suits?" Everyone nodded and murmurs of agreement followed. "How about this, we get back to the Playground, give you guys some interviews, get you some food, new clothes, medical overlooks and then we talk."

Piper looked at Lachlan and—she noticed—so did everyone else. He swallowed hard, he was the oldest and therefore he had the most authority….for now at least…

"Okay," Lachlan said reluctantly, "But if we even _think_ somethings about to go wrong, we won't hesitate to attack," he added quickly.

"Sounds fair," Coulson agreed, "I assume you'd like to meet the people that you'll—if you choose to stay—be staying with."

Murmurs of agreement momentarily filled the quietness. Coulson walked over to one of the many screens and double tapped, "Tell Agents May, Skye, Hunter, Fitz and Simmons to my office."

Piper waited for a few minutes and snapped her gaze upwards as the door opened quietly. The first to walk in was a strongly built Asian woman with long black hair and a scowl on her face. Trailing the Asian woman was a younger lady with brown hair and a friendly smile; she was a lot more reassuring than the Asian woman. Following the younger woman was a tall man with a thin beard and a relatively mischievous look. After him came a less muscular, a seemingly more scientific, man who Piper recognized from earlier as Fitz. After him came a thin lady with light brown hair and a kind smile, she wore a cashmere sweater and looked a bit too excited.

"Kids, meet the Agents. May," Coulson gestured to the Asian woman, who nodded once, "Skye," she smiled, "Hunter," he gave an impressed look, "Fitz," an awkward half-wave, "Simmons," a grin.

"I'm Piper," Piper said bravely, "You guys gonna say your names?" she asked after a pause.

"Naze watashitachiha shiranaihito ni watashitachi no namaeqotsukeru hitsuyō ga arimasu ka?" Tamashi chimed. _Why should we give our names to people we don't know?_

One of Piper's non-supernatural abilities was that she was multilingual. She could speak a variety of languages including Spanish, Greek, Korean, Russian, Polish and Japanese. Sadly she had Hydra to thank for that ability.

Coulson raised his eyebrows, and Hunter spoke "He doesn't speak English?" Piper shook his head and Tamashi glared.

"Ya he does, he just doesn't like it. He understands what you say in English but he's more fluent in Japanese," Spencer replied.

Coulson opened his mouth to answer but May beat him to it, "Anata ga iu koto wa arimasen. Shirudo wa chōdo tasukeru tame ni nozonde imasu." _You don't have to say. S.H.I.E.L.D. just wants to help._

The room was silent and the younger team of Hydra prisoners stared at the older female agent. Piper glanced at Tamashi and saw that his eyes were wide and a bit confused that someone had responded in Japanese.

"Uh…" Drew said awkwardly.

"Can someone please explain?" Spencer questioned.

"We'll say our names," Lachlan decided, "Lachlan Butler." He announced, filling his own request.

"Piper Dawn Harpers," Piper repeated her name, cocking her head slightly in interest.

"Tamashi Kinzoku," Tamashi said calmly, crossing his arms.

"Thor," Spencer scoffed, he dropped his voice to a thick accented tone, "The God of Thunder!" he shouted sarcastically. Piper stifled a laugh, Drew grinned, Eleanor giggled, Tamashi gave an annoyed look and Lachlan glared. Spencer rolled his eyes, "Spencer Cassidy."

"Eleanor May Haynes," Eleanor grinned sheepishly.

"Drew Pond," Drew said.

"But you can call us THE JUNIOR AVENGERS!" Spencer yelled triumphantly.

"No you cannot," Tamashi disagreed.

"We're not Avengers," Piper agreed.

"We don't want to avenge our lost childhood," Lachlan added.

"We're just going to make sure that no one screws up our future," Eleanor said casually.

"I've got it!" Drew shouted, "We're Cope!"

Coulson gave him a questioning look.

"Challengers of Past Experiences," Drew explained.

"Bit confusing, mate," Hunter chimed.

"Fine, then what if we shorten it?" Lachlan said thoughtfully, "Just Challengers. We're the Challengers."

 **And thus the team name is revealed. I really hope you guys don't hate it, it took 3 inspirational search engines, 29 thesaurus searches and 5 google searches to think of it. I really really hope you liked this extra-long chapter and I will give you a small explanation of what's to come:**

 **The next chapter will check in with the villains and who knows, maybe you'll even get to meet their leader!**

 **The chapter after that will return to the heroes and I might start a mix POV basis where I go from heroes to villains to another hero to some allies, who knows.**

 **The allies will be announced throughout the story.**

 **Please leave feedback!**

 **-AG**


	6. IMPORTANT - READ - NOT BAD NEWS

**NOT ON HIATUS OR DISCONTINUED! PLEASE READ**

 **Okay, quick update: I am NOT discontinuing this story or putting it on Hiatus, I am just alerting you all that I won't be updating for a week because I am going to this camp thing for school. SO: I AM NOT DEAD. Please please please be patient and bear with me! I tried really really hard to finish the chapter and I got about 2/3 of the way done but my dad says I have to get to bed (because of camp) and therefore I couldn't finish.**

 **Let's clear it up:**

 **Not dead.**

 **Will update next week.**

 **Not on hiatus.**

 **Not discontinued.**

 **Please be patient, the villains will be introduced in the next chapter! Promise! Please bear with me! Thanks so much for everyone's continued support! I'm almost done with the chapter and if I finish it before school tomorrow I'll definitely post!**

 **-AG**


	7. Stefans Mansion

Chapter 4-

 **I'm back! Yay! *applause***

 **So let's visit the villains, what'd ya think?! I'm super excited! Let's get right into it! In this chapter you'll get to meet ALL of the villains and we'll find out who's top dog.**

 **Quick note for Chloe999: So, Lana's revised powers include: possession and consciousness transferal. Does that sound okay? I was thinking her alias could be Spirit Binder. Sound okay?**

 **Alright—at long last—shall we?**

 _Outside of the Stefans Mansion_

 _Private Property – Countryside, New York_

Daniel Aumeier was perched in a tall tree, concealed by leaves. He had no idea whose tree it was but this was the address he had received and he was determined to find out who the hell had invited him. The letter he had received was anonymous and it had been delivered to him through a salesman. He had just been passing by a shop and the clerk had come outside, not saying a word, before handing him the letter and leaving.

That in itself had intrigued Daniel, but the part that had caught his interest mainly was what was written in the letter:

 _Dear Mr. Aumeier,_

 _The man behind you is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. If you do not wish to be taken into custody then I suggest you look to your left._

 _-KS_

At that point Daniel, obviously thriving to avoid imprisonment, looked over. And there, parked at the curb, was a black limousine. This was way too cliché for Daniel's taste, but he was okay with anything to get him out of juvie. Now, at this moment, Daniel was ducked behind a fat branch with pokey thorns. He had leapt out of the door a couple miles back, right out of the limo. Then he had followed it.

He shivered as a chilly autumn breeze crept up his thin shirt. He glanced at the massive mansion that the limousine had parked near. **(Look up: 'X mansion'. There should be a numbered map for the second pic. That's it)** It had a gigantic front door with pillars bordering each side. An seemingly endless plaza led up to the front walk and the building had an unusual shape, curving around the plaza and then going back. Daniel spotted a hedge maze off to the right and a series of trails off to the left. A statue was in the middle of the plaza, a man with a cane standing proudly, as if protecting the circle.

So far, it had just been two guys talking: one was a tall woman in a black suit with dark skin and sunglasses. The second was a female in a suit with long blonde hair and sunglasses. Daniel had entertained himself by concealing himself in leaves and tearing off pieces of bark, chucking them at the security officers and annoying the crap out of them.

He chuckled quietly to himself as he tossed another slim piece into the air and—with godly accuracy—the piece came flying back down to skim the blonde woman's right ear. She twitched, swinging around and looking around as the second woman demanded if she was okay. Daniel laughed again, a smirk painted on his face.

"Oooh," he said to himself as a long limousine pulled up to property, "What do we have here?"

Daniel raised an eyebrow as 5 figures stepped out of the car, "More guests?"

The first was a short girl that Daniel quickly analyzed as a 16 year old female. She had bright red hair and was wrapped in a large blanket. The second was an athletic 18 year old male with dirty blonde hair in a military cut. His angular face consisted of thin lips and grey-blue eyes that searched the area, a long rifle was strapped across his back.

After the boy came another. This one was roughly the same size except with well-kept black hair and a muscular build. That's two main threats so far. The boy's bright yellow eyes and pale blue skin sent chills up Daniel's spine.

After the second boy came another girl and Daniel smirked. This girl was pretty. She might just be a good reason to join. He blew a loose white hair out of his eyes. His snow white hair was carefully styled in an undercut pompadour and Daniel took special care to keep himself looking sharp.

The girl had ink black straight locks of hair, pulled back into a high ponytail, and she couldn't have been older than he was (17). She had mocha skin and glimmering amber eyes. Daniel _almost_ flinched when her eyes flickered over to him and she smirked. Instead he focused on the final two figures to exit the car.

The first was an African American girl with bright red and yellow hair that was pulled back in a braid. She walked in more of a strut and seemed proud of herself. Her blazing red eyes seemed to cut through the air. Behind her stumbled a man wearing an outfit that Daniel recognized all too well, green Hydra combat armor. He looked injured and the amount of blood that covered his leg didn't make the limb look like it was in good shape. Daniel flicked his glance over to the two security guards.

The African American security guard began running over to the Hydra soldier while the blonde spoke into a Walkie-Talkie device. Daniel narrowed his steel blue eyes when the figures' mouths began moving. He couldn't hear a single thing from this massive heap of wood. He began clambering down the oak tree and running swiftly and stealthily at the massive mansion.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

Naia's feet hurt.

She grumbled, mainly to herself, and paused walking, twirling her ankle a few times before continuing. They had walked through the tundra for who knows how long, shoved into a limousine and driven for 5 hours, now it was daytime, during which she had been crammed in-between the ridiculously calm blue skinned freak and the pathetic weak girl.

Naia glared up at the mansion before her. This was where they had arrived. The first ground her feet had felt since 5 hours earlier.

It was certainly a sight to see. Every single brown brick seemed to be different. The stone tile that she stood on looked expensive, especially for a driveway. Naia looked up, disgusted at the fanciness of the entire place. Whoever lived here had been and still was living in luxury, probably for all of their life, as she rotted away in a jail cells and underwent painful procedures that some _grown men_ couldn't survive.

Naia halted infront of a woman with long blonde hair. The woman was wearing a suit and had security guard apparel. She was accompanied by an African American woman who was assisting Andre.

"Miss Emma Johnson, Miss Naia Cardillo, Mr. Dragunov, Mr. Daedre G'Thulic, Miss Rebecca Sheinburg," she greeted, "Pleasure to have you all. Mr. Stefans will—"

"Please, call me Kris. 'Mr. Stefans' makes me sound like I'm one of those _average_ businessmen."

Naia snapped her gaze up to the large staircase that led to the door. A figure had somehow exited the building unnoticed. He had a professional looking appearance: an expensive looking black suit over a white button up that was casually unbuttoned at the top button. The man had shaggy brunette hair that was cut at shoulder length.

"Oh, Sir, my apologies," the blonde woman said, her eyebrows rose.

"No need, Carla. You have nothing to be sorry for," Kris said to the blonde woman, apparently Carla.

Naia found it unusual that Kris didn't have any male guards. She had nothing against female empowerment, but you'd think a rich—couldn't have been older than 19 year old—attractive man like him would have some sort of man power.

Naia remained straight faced, throwing a glare in the man's direction.

"Well, it seems that _almost_ everyone is here," Kris grinned kindly, but his eyes flashed with something that Naia couldn't put her finger on. He walked over to Naia and gently picked up her hand, much to her disagreement, he kissed it lightly. "Pleasure." He said smoothly.

Naia mentally punched the blush that dare try to creep onto her face, and instead narrowed her eyes, "You try too hard."

Kris chuckled, "Oh," he grinned, "On the contrary I wasn't trying at all. I have called you all here for business reasons, nothing else." The subtly flirtatious teen paused again, hands now folded behind his back, "I see another one of my guests has arrived."

Naia raised an eyebrow and looked at Dragunov, who's eyebrows were furrowed. The boy's usually in-the-know expression had turned into that of confusion.

"Mr. Aumeier!" Kris called, his voice weaving into the air without resistance.

A chilling laugh came from outside of the massive gates that lead into the property and Naia spun around, sweeping her gaze over the tree line. A shadowy figure performed a front flip before landing at the gates, leaping onto a loose brick, propelling himself upwards and flipping once again onto the interior side of the fence.

"Okay, I'm impressed."

This new voice came from a tall man—no older than 17—with white hair styled in an undercut pompadour and steely blue eyes. He also had a smirk and an impressed look on his face. He wore a white t shirt, black pants with a black trench coat to top it off.

"Ladies, gentlemen, meet Mr. Daniel Aumeier," Kris introduced, "One of the remaining guests."

"Pleasures all yours," Daniel said, smirking and crossing his arms.

Naia gave an annoyed look.

"I assume that you called us all here for more than just small conversation?" Daedre asked, his dandelion yellow eyes swiveling over to Kris.

"Ah yes," Kris clapped his hands together, "Please follow me." He spun heel and began walking over to the door, the teens following him and Carla and the other guard bringing up the rear with Andre.

"I hope you don't expect me to turn my gun in," Dragunov said with his deep tone, he grabbed the strap of his AK-47 in his fist.

"Why of course not my dear friend!" Kris smiled, "Why would I? I trust you and I want you to trust me. Although I don't see any reason to have it, if you want to keep your weaponry please feel free too."

They entered the mansion and were greeted by a long hallway with black and white tile floor and wooden walls. Chandeliers hung from the ceilings, providing a relaxing amount of light and pictures and murals hung on the walls while potted plants sat on thin wooden tables that lines the walls.

"How exactly did you find us?" Emma chimed, brushing a lock of bright red hair out of her face. Her small light brown eyes were flashing around the room nervously.

"I've been monitoring you for quite a while. I saw all of the terrible things that _Hydra_ has done to you and I've been struggling to find your location," Kris explained, keeping his gaze straight ahead. "After S.H.I.E.L.D. bombed you I managed to pinpoint the location and send my soldier to go get you."

"Your soldier?" Daniel asked, "Sorry, but didn't you just say you were against Hydra? And yet 'your soldier' is a Hydra chump." Daniel threw a thumb over his shoulder at Andre.

"Please don't blame Andre for all of this!" Kris said, a saddened look in his eyes, "Poor Andre was chosen to go undercover in Hydra, that's all. He was against it and I chose him to do the work. It really is my fault that he was injured. I assure you all, Andre had nothing to do with the bombings."

Rebecca looked over her shoulder and Naia looked at her. Sending the African American a look and—using her powers—a message that sounded, _"Do you trust this guy?"_

To which, Rebecca nodded, _"Ya. He seems fine."_

Rebecca Sheinburg was the only member of this pathetic group that Naia relatively respected. Sure, she was flirtatious and a bit playful, but Naia could easily relate. For now, however, she would stick to her mind games.

"So, _Kris_ ," Naia began, striding forwards and walking next to him, "What will you do if we _don't_ cooperate?"

"Glad you asked," Kris replied, showing his trademarked grin. "If one or all of your wish to forget about this meeting then I will provide faux IDs and new houses where you can begin new life. I can even swipe a few of the S.H.I.E.L.D. data files if you wish."

Naia raised her eyebrows, this time turning to Dragunov. He looked skeptical. Even for a ragtag group of misfits, this group was the closest she'd had to family in a long time.

Kris turned a corner and led the group into a hallway that—like many of the other hallways they had passed – had many doors breaking off from it. Each was numbered, 1-10.

"Please, choose whichever room you wish," Kris offered, holding out his hand, "The final guest will arrive tomorrow. For now, make yourselves at home."

Naia walked over to room 3, cautiously opening the door. Her eyes widened at what she saw. A large king sized bed with a silken navy bedspread that had lace edges a pattern of lily flowers covering it.

She walked over to one of the wooden bedside tables that was on each side of the bed and turned on the light. A platter of chocolate covered strawberries had been placed under it and she raised an eyebrow. She then proceeded to glare at the vase of petunias that sat next to her bed.

"Freaking petunias," Naia grumbled, picked them all up and walking over to the balcony—which could be accessed through a set of white double doors. She walked out, the breeze running through her hair, and tossed the petunias off of the second floor and down to the grass below.

She turned back to her luxury room and walked over to the closet. Opening it, she found an array of clothes, all in her size, and a catalog pinned to the wall. A post-it-note had been attached to the catalog. Letters had been written in cursive handwriting:

 _If you don't like anything in your closet, than please alert the maid. She would be more than happy to find whatever you'd like. –K_

Naia set the note back down. _Maid?_ As if on que, a beautiful woman with flawless tanned skin and almond shaped eyes, long black hair—that shimmered blue in the light—covered her back and on top of that she was wearing a black and white maid getup.

"Who are you?" Naia demanded.

"My name is Johanna, I am in your service," she replied in a partial monotone. She performed a mini-bow.

Naia looked skeptical, "Right…in my service you say?" Johanna nodded enthusiastically. "Give me a foot massage."

Johanna nodded and quickly scampered around the room, dragging over a recliner chair and pulling up a footrest and gesturing for Naia to sit down. Naia sat down and grabbed her plate of strawberries, beginning to eat as the massage began.

Ya, she could get used to this.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Unknown location_

Pat Coren zoomed through the S.H.I.E.L.D. data files. Her tan skin shined and her bright violet eyes glowed in the dark apartment room.

"Boring, boring, boring, BO-RING!" she shouted as she read through the files. "A murder, boring, a suicide, boring, a drug dealership, boring, a zombie breakout….BORING!"

She brushed a lock of strawberry blonde hair out of her eyes, scratching the side of her head on which the hair had been buzzed away. She clicked away at her computer until a new file came up. One about an explosion at an old Hydra base.

"Ooh!" she squealed, "Coulson updated his super-secret Facebook account!" the girl referenced to the S.H.I.E.L.D. database as a Facebook because it was more fun. "Nice!" she said as she read, "#Interesting, #Fancy, #Explosion, #Unicorn!" she listed off. She picked up her iPhone, which was decorated with a pink unicorn case.

Her voice dropped to a deadly low, "Mr. Uptight Bossman Sir? Ya, it's me. How much would you pay me to kidnap a super freak?" the girl smirked, wishing her eyes could turn to dollar signs like in the old cartoons her stupid parents made her watch. "Ooh-hoo-hoo!" she laughed, "Ca-ching! Sounds like a deal!"

She turned to the two rotting corpses that sat, slumped over onto each other on the couch. One of their throats had been slit while the other had taken 2 knives to the chest. She grinned, standing up out of the roller chair and walked over to the man—the one who had been stabbed twice—she reached down and picked up his cold, clammy hand.

She grinned with insanity, her eyes shining with a murderous glow. "Thanks for lettin' me stay at your place, Pal!" she tore the shining keys to the man's van out of his hand and made her way to the door. "Have fun on your honeymoon!"

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The basement of the Stefans Mansion_

Kris Stefans walked down the stone staircase to the comforting basement. A bed had been set up, king sized like most of his beds were. In it lay a wounded Hydra soldier with his mask pulled back. Brownish auburn hair glittered in the dim light.

"How was your wine?" Kris was no longer smirking, instead a stern look was placed on his face. He set a hand on Andre's shoulder, only for the agent to tip to the side, wine spilling onto the sheets. The wine emerged from not only the half-full cup but also the lips of it's consumer.

"Carla, Reyella," Kris turned to the African-American and blonde security guards who stood behind him. Both had blank expressions and wore black suits. They didn't respond, but Kris knew they were listening. "Dispose of the corpse and do the laundry."

Carla and Reyella walked over to the bed, zombie-like. Their eyes were blank and soulless, like living dolls. He had tired of putting up the act that the girls were still themselves. These two had been good finds, easy picks. Two friends that had just gotten off of their flight to the Big Apple. Easy to manipulate and trick into looking into his eyes.

One look and they were his. One look and they forgot all that they used to be. One look and they were his to mold, his to control. They were his _slaves_.

"Oh, and Carla," Kris chimed. Carla turned to him and looked at him with dead eyes. "If anyone finds out, this was your fault. You did this."

Carla turned and began dragging the corpse away.

Meanwhile, Kris smirked.

This would work out nicely.

 **DUN DUN DUHHHHHH! Please let me know what you think of Kris and Pat! Maybe you can give some possible powers?**

 **Kris isn't nearly as friendly, it seems! It appears he has something dastardly going on! So, please please review if you're enjoying the story and I would LOVE to hear some requests – I won't hate on any of them!**

 **Thanks to Nefertam for Kris and VBallPanda for Pat!**

 **Alrighty, well, I'll see y'all next chapter!**

 **-AG**


	8. One's a Weapon, One's Not

Chapter 5-

 **Hey hey hey! You guys ready for another chapter?! Please read all of this A/N! I know it's long but read it all!**

 **Thank you thank you everyone for the compliments and reviews!**

 **Just a warning: Fair warning , you're gonna be seeing a lot of Hunter and Fitz because they're my two favorite characters and I enjoy writing them the most. I thought I should let you guys know! Hope you're okay with that.**

 **Also, I mentioned earlier that this took place way way after everything in the current episodes happens. I also said it wasn't AU. I was wrong. I thought about it and it is a partial AU because of what happened in the most recent AU, in this story the war with the Inhumans never happened and they worked out a peace agreement, therefore Gonzales is still alive. Hope that makes sense. :)**

 **CHROMEMUFFIN: Thanks so so much for the offer, but I think I'm just gonna stick to Google Translate. It's nothing against you! (You're amazing!) It'll just be easier when I'm writing the chapters with no internet or when I need speedy translations. Thanks so much though! And I'm super sorry if some of the Japanese comes out a little funky! Hope you still enjoy the story!**

 **ANNOUNCEMENT: I chose middle names for your characters, I hope you all don't hate them. They won't be used often and if you don't like them then PM me (or say in reply if you're a guest) and what you want it to be, I'll change it but—like I said before—they won't be used often anyways.**

 **Shall we? (I think that's gonna be my thing.)**

 _The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

"Alright," Hunter sat down in the metal chair. S.H.I.E.L.D. had thought of a new way to gain a series of answers from a large group during an interrogation. Each teen had been put in a separate room while Hunter sat in his own with a computer set in front of him. "Let's give this a go.." he muttered to himself.

 **List your full name.** He typed.

A minute later the computer beeped and answers appeared, luckily the older teen…what was his name...Lachlan! (Hunter silently cheered, he had been attempting to memorize their names, a small test on his part.) Lachlan had convinced them to cooperate for the moment.

 **Com. 1: Lachlan James Butler**

 **Com. 2: Piper Dawn Harpers**

 **Com. 3: Drew Dakota Pond**

 **Com. 4: Tamashi Mikio Kinzoku**

 **Com. 5: Eleanor May Hayes**

 **Com. 6: Spencer Dane Cassidy**

Alright, this was going to be easy enough. Type in a question, get answers, write them down. As Hunter ran through the thoughts he scribbled down the information on a document. He quickly edited the computer labels, adding everyone's names so he could identify each teen. He glanced at the next question and began typing.

 **You wash up on a deserted island alone. Sitting on the sand is a box. What is in that box?** He raised an eyebrow at the question. He never had to go through the interrogation process that Skye had told him about, but now he was curious.

 **Lachlan: A bow and arrow**

Hunter took that into consideration. This kid was smart, he knew that if he asked for a gun then it would eventually run out of ammo. With a bow and arrow, arrows could be reused. But does he have good aim? Can he use a bow and arrow? If he can, are their even animals? Hunter scribbled down a note: _look at your surroundings._

 **Piper: A boat**

Fair enough. A boat would certainly come in handy. But what about gas? It's bound to run out sometime, and then you'd just be drifting. He made a note: _work on strategy._

 **Drew: A tamed polar bear.**

Hunter raised an eyebrow. Polar bear? Well, if it was tamed he supposed that made sense. Swim off of the island and all that. What if it isn't tamed to his commands? He noted: _think of all the possibilities._

 **Tamashi: Guide to plant life.**

Pick out the edible and inedible plants? Maybe. Does he know how to cook them? Hunter thought for a moment before scribbling down: _know your limits._

 **Eleanor: Iron Man**

Okay…so maybe Iron Man could carry her off of the island…But what about...Hunter paused, thinking for a moment. What _was_ wrong with that? She should've written the Avengers, rather than Iron Man. That way, if something happens to Tony Stark, someone else would be there. _Expand your ideas._

 **Spencer: A jetpack.**

Hunter froze. A jetpack? What was he going to do? Fly off the island? How exactly was that going to work? The jetpack was bound to run out of gas...And even if he could get into the air, the air would thin. He would need some sort of protection from that. Not to mention if it rained, that could take a toll on the jetpack. _Think harder._

Next question.

 **What's the difference between an egg and a rock?**

Hunter stared at the question. Wasn't the answer obvious? I guess it might tell him a little more of how the teens think, but honestly, what was the point of that question?

 **Lachlan: You can eat one and break your teeth on the other.**

 **Piper: One has a shell, one doesn't.**

 **Drew: One is a weapon, the other's a rock.**

 **Tamashi: One's a weapon. One's a chicken hatchling.**

 **Eleanor: I can't list all of the differences, I think I'd pass the word limit.**

 **Spencer: Dude. It's an** _ **egg**_ **and a** _ **rock**_ **.**

Hunter rolled his eyes and continued.

 **If you could kill one person, ever, who would it be?**

 **Lachlan: Lucas Spalding**

Hunter had heard that name before, back when he was in the British Armed Forces. Lucas Spalding: a world known American gang leader that housed in New York. Why would Lachlan know that name? Hunter would have to remember to inquire about the boy's backstory later.

 **Piper: Dominic, after the procedure.**

Who was Dominic? What procedure? Lance jotted down the two questions.

 **Drew: Does Hydra count as a person?**

 **Tamashi: Marcus S.**

What did S stand for?

 **Eleanor: If I succeeded in killing everyone I wanted too, I wouldn't be a hero, I'd be a mass murderer.**

The fact that a 13 year old was saying this ran chills up Hunter's spine.

 **Spencer: My old Mission Supervisor. That guy was a—**

Hunter stopped reading at that point, but he quickly scribbled down that there was at least 13 different swear words written down, many of which Hunter himself didn't even know existed.

 **That's all, you can exit your room. Someone'll be waiting to show you to the next step.**

Hunter got up and gathered the papers, he exited the small room and met Simmons outside.

"Jemma, you can give these to Coulson, yeah?" Hunter inquired.

"Certainly," Simmons nodded, gathering them. She did her best to smile in a calming way, but it came out as a nervous un-calming half-grin, "How did it go?"

Hunter sighed, "Well, I can say for sure that I no longer view them as a bunch of teenagers."

"What _do_ you view them as?" Simmons asked, getting curious.

"Torture victims," Hunter said as he walked away.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

May met all of the teenagers in the meeting room, where they had been staying for a while since their medical examinations.

"It's late and I know you're all tired," she stated. The teens reluctantly agreed. "But we need to ask you one last question."

The teens looked up practically in unison. They all looked worn out, but interested.

"If we gave you the opportunity to form a S.H.I.E.L.D. ops team, would you agree or disagree?" May asked.

There was a long drawn out pause. Piper ducked her head, her light brown hair falling over her face. Spencer crossed his arms and looked away. Drew zoned out, seemingly deep in thought. Lachlan gave an uneasy look. Eleanor looked uncertainly at Lachlan and seemed deeply disturbed by his loss of confidence. Tamashi avoided eye contact, still stone faced and looking annoyed.

"That was a question," May said sternly.

Drew was the one to speak up, "Ya. S.H.I.E.L.D. seems decent enough."

May glanced around the room and got a series of nods and 'yes's.

"One condition," Eleanor spoke in a quiet tone and May snapped her glance over to the girl.

"And that is?" May requested.

"We can leave whenever we want to," Eleanor said.

May paused, giving a stern look as she thought, "Sounds appropriate. Your training begins tomorrow. You can find your dorms down the hall. If you need help then ask Agent Simmons."

And with that, she walked away, leaving 6 confused teenagers in her wake.

* * *

 _Stefans Mansion_

 _Private Property – Countryside, New York_

"Alright, I'd love to see all of your powers," Kris smiled fondly. He had brought all of them down to the training room. A large room that was practically indestructible and forged of the toughest material on earth: a Vibranium-graphene alloy. "You, young lady, shall go first!" he announced happily, smiling encouragingly.

He had woken everyone up early and given them pancakes, bacon and orange juice for breakfast. They seemed happy enough. Just like a plant: enough sunlight, nourishment and water and they'd be fine. Now he had another one of his guards: Jennifer and Carla guarding the door so that they couldn't run off.

"I'd prefer not to…" the girl with the bright red hair and light brown eyes said hurriedly. What was her name? He'd have to get a hold of these names at some point. He wouldn't be very trustworthy if he couldn't remember his _students'_ names.

"Come on, give it a go," Kris said, he set a hand on her back and forcibly—yet somehow gently—walked her over so that she was standing around 30 feet from a mannequin with a bullseye on it's chest. "Go on, just hit it, or punch it or whatever you'd like."

He quickly assessed her. She was small, easy to hide. She was cute, good for undercover missions. She looked a little younger than she probably was, manipulation advantage. Kris quickly looked back up as the mannequin caught fire. A long trail of a fiery blaze shot from the girl…Emma! Short from Emma's hands and burned the mannequin until it was nothing but molten plastic.

Emma stopped and wrapped her right hand around her left bicep, looking embarrassed. The older teens stared at her in silence.

"Damn," Daniel said, breaking the silence.

Emma laughed awkwardly, "Alright, well, I mean, whoever wants to go next can…you know …" she scratched the back of her head and swiftly walked over to the group.

She could be useful. Her small size could provide a large tribute to covert assignments. Her blazing palms could easily envelop a building in flames. Not just that, but her innocent appearance threw enemies off: they wouldn't attack but Kris would train the girl to attack.

Dragunov stepped forwards at that moment. Kris cocked his head a little, interested in what this teenager had to offer. In one swift motion Dragunov whipped the AK-47 from his back and fired 8 rapid shots. The dummy was hit with 7 of them: 3 in the heart, 2 in the head and one in each knee. But the muscular machine-like man wasn't finished, he quickly spun around and fired another shot.

Kris tried not to flinch as the bullet whizzed by his ear and hit the wall behind him.

"Well done Mr. Dragunov!" Kris clapped his hands together and grinned.

A good asset. He would most certainly come in handy in various situations. His vast use of weaponry added to his level of power. He was physically and mentally fit and he could easily take down a man from a mile away using his sniping abilities.

"Mr. G'Thulic, would you like to try?" to many, Kris's remark would sound like a friendly suggestion, but in reality, Kris was desperate to find out what this mysterious blue skinned, yellow eyed, seemingly-alien, warrior that brandished strange black tattoos across his face, had in store.

Daedre gave one nod and stepped forwards. The mysterious being was clad in full body armor colored black with massive armored plates that seemed flexible, obviously due to an advanced technology. Daedre moved into a defensive position and brought his hand down to his left leg in one swift movement.

Two armored plates unfolded, revealing a weaponized pistol. He whipped it out and fired three quick shots into a new dummy. He put the gun back and for a second Kris was severely disappointed. But then the teen charged at the dummy, much to Kris's surprise and a 3 foot energized blade emerged from the armor covering his right hand.

He sliced cleanly through the dummy.

"Impressive," Kris muttered. He would have to watch this alien.

"I could demonstrate my full abilities, but we are in need of thrice dozen more artificial humanoids," Daedre said calmly.

"Right…" Rebecca said, giving a confused look.

He could most certainly come in handy, but Kris would have to watch his back. This alien being seemed to have a strong mind set of what he wanted to do and what he didn't. This worried Kris, one ant strays from the path and those who follow it stray behind it.

"Shall we continue?" Kris asked after a small pause. The super powered teens were giving him anxious glances.

"Move it!" Rebecca snapped, strutting forwards with confidence. "Anybody tries to mess with me and they get this—" molten lava suddenly spurted from her hands, melting a dummy into a molten glob of plastic. "—to the face."

That was all that was needed. Rebecca's powers had so much opportunity. Burning a path or tunnel through the ground for a stealth mission, melting buildings, melting people, assisting Kris with his tasks of disposing people who annoy him; many uses indeed.

"Naia, we haven't gotten to see your abilities yet," Kris urged.

"I know," Naia crossed her arms.

"Come on Babe, what're your powers?" Daniel asked.

Naia rolled her eyes, "I can't use them on a practice dummy."

"Why not?" Kris inquired.

"Mind over matter," Naia replied simply.

Ah, a telepath. Kris couldn't wait to see her powers in action. She would definitely come of use. Who knew what abilities she had in store?! Telepathy, telekinesis, mind control, she could have the whole load! Naia reminded him of _someone he knew_.

"And finally," Kris said, performing a mini bow to Daniel. Kris knew exactly what the teen wanted and how to stay on everyone's good side. The boy craved attention.

"With pleasure," Daniel smirked. He smoothly walked to the center of the training area and removed his black trench coat, tossing it to the side—it landed neatly on a test dummy. Once the coat was off a sheath was revealed, one that crossed over his back and wielded a katana.

Daniel drew the sword from it's confinement and held it up defensively.

"You," Daniel nodded his head at Jennifer. The red headed girl was still standing in the background, looking dazed. She had a gun at her hip and a suit on like all the others. "Shoot at me." Kris gave a concerned look: he couldn't lose those he had gained.

 _Do what he says_ , Kris ordered silently to the girl.

Jennifer cooperated, not having much of a choice, and pulled out her black pistol. The teens cleared a path as Jennifer fired 4 shots. Bang, bang, bang, bang.

Daniel's katana and his arms became a blur of movement and suddenly 8 half bullets were laying on the training mat. Kris raised his eyebrows and felt his expressions match the others'. For a flirtatious sometimes frustrating teen, the boy had skills.

Daniel smirked, this time it radiated with a strong essence of pride. He bowed and slid the katana into it's sheath, casually walking over and picking up his coat, slipping it back on.

Daniel would be of important use. With accuracy like that, he could easily get in and out of various places unharmed. He would be a well-used attribute and Kris could easily picture him on a team of master assassins.

The sound of the door opening caught his attention.

"Sir, Miss Scritz has arrived," said Reyella, who was now standing by the door.

"Fantastic! Send her in!" Kris cheered happily.

"Who?" Emma asked.

"Our final guest," Kris grinned.

In through the door stepped a small girl. She couldn't be more than 8 or 9. She had light brown straight hair that reached her shoulders and bright yellow eyes. She was skinny with a small nose and pale skin. Her ears were a bit big and her eyes were flashing around the room, seemingly scared but somehow also threatening everyone in the room.

The girl wore a t-shirt and shorts. Scars covered her legs.

"Guests, meet Miss Vandella Scritz," Kris held out his hand, gesturing to the girl.

"She's just a kid!" Daniel snapped.

Vandella narrowed her eyes and red beam shot out of her right eye, only the right. The beam cut a clean hole through the head of a training dummy and Daniel was quickly silenced.

"She's got much more locked within that eye," Kris warned, "So be careful." Vandella nodded in approval.

 _Yes,_ Kris thought wickedly, _these teens will work in my favor._

* * *

 _A Forest Precisely 20 Miles from the Playground_

Pat Coren ran in and out of massive snow covered pine trees. Her hands were thrown back behind her and she bowed down as she ran, running ninja style. Her sneakers kicked up rotten pine needles, snowflakes and dirt as she ran.

She was quietly singing herself a song that she had made up herself. It was sung to the tune of _Baa Baa Black Sheep_.

" _Boss man, Boss man, have you any bills?_

 _Yes Pat, Yes Pat, three trucks full._

 _One filled with 100s._

 _One filled with gold._

 _And one filled with artifacts._

 _They'll last till you're old."_

Pat smirked happily at her little jingle. Suddenly the tree in front of her burst into splinters, the vibrating sound of a plasma grenade running through the air. A thick lock impaled her chest and a splintery piece of pine wood stuck into her forehead.

Pat landed harshly on her back and uncomfortably lifted her head to see a figure walking towards her. He wore a pair of Night Hawk II Photochromic Goggles. His dark brown skin blended him with the dark background and his short black curly hair seemed happy to feel free air, fidgeting a tiny bit in the wind.

The man was around 17ish years old and a short beard warmed his face. He was tall and he gripped a pistol tightly, aiming it for Pat.

"Jesus man, you're gonna kill someone throwing those things around!" Pat taunted, yanking the branch out of her head and flicking away the crimson red blood that streamed down her forehead. The man narrowed his eyes and fired twice, hitting both of her arms.

Pat growled and shoved her fingers into the bullet wounds, yanking out the two bullets and pulling out her knives as the wounds began to seal.

"Duck," the man said and Pat swiftly dropped to a crouch. The man fired once and a sniper fell out of a nearby tree, groaning in pain. Pat snatched the sniper's rifle and ran up to the man with the pistol and the two stood back to back, Pat now armed with the sniper's rifle while the black clad man kept his pistol.

"Hey Vic, longtime no see!" Pat grinned widely, firing a shot into a charging soldier.

"Coren," Victor said simply, firing two shots into two men running at the group. Two more men retreated as Pat aimed her rifle at them.

"Who are these wimps?" Pat asked.

"Hydra, a base 82.4 miles from here. Apparently they've caught interest in you," Victor replied smoothly. The two swapped positions, firing into a new mass of Hydra goons.

"'Bout time," Pat growled.

"My thoughts exactly," Victor agreed, reloading his pistol.

"So, what're you doing in town?" Pat inquired, stabbing a man in the eye with her knife. He had managed to slip past her gun, and shot her once in the shoulder. He gurgled and fell to the floor.

Victor chucked a splintered stick at a woman and she fell to the ground, stick gouging into her neck. "Hydra hired me to kill you. I took the money and tracked you here. I figured out it was you and—"

"Knowing I was your friend, you decided against killing me?" Pat finished, grinning, but regretting it as blood splattered over her face.

"No. I knew I couldn't kill you because of your…complications…" Victor replied.

"Hey! They are _not_ complications!" Pat snarled. She instantly changed to a good mood, slapping her hands together and using a mock stereotypical Zen Buddha voice, "It 'tis a gift!"

Victor gave a straight face as they finished off the last of the Hydra crooks.

Pat spun heel and turned to Victor, grabbing his shoulders, "Come on! You've got to come with me to go catch a Super-Friend!" she urged.

"Pass," Victor shook his head, "I'm going to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. I don't think that capturing someone from _their_ group is going to give me a good rep."

"Whatever," Pat crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, "You're so boring!"

Victor ignored the comment, "If you ever need me, you know how to find me."

"Alrighty then!" Pat said enthusiastically, "Goodbye my love!" she said jokingly, "I bid thee farewell!"

Silence followed as Victor disappeared into the trees.

Pat sighed, "Now, to get you out," she said, looking down at the stick that still impaled her stomach.

 **Yay! Hope that wasn't** _ **too**_ **boring for you all! Sorry that chapter took so long! So anyways, I tried to get a little bit of everyone in this chapter. For those authors who submitted allies that haven't appeared yet: they haven't been forgotten! I've planned this story out** **all the way to chapter 12** **SO FAR! And 5/7 total allies have been brought in! SO, I hope that you all understand.**

 **I'd like to make a quick note, sort of a fact really. Practically everything in this story is from the comics. So, if you find interest in something: please feel free to research it.**

 **Omega Point is a Hydra base from the comics, the Playground is indeed located in a pine forest, (the Playground is actually known as Fury Base 8 in the comics), Omega Point is located in Italy, Andre is a real Hydra comic character, and Lance Hunter was indeed part of the British Military!**

 **I hope you all are at least a tiny bit impressed because I do put a lot of work into researching each chapter. Drop a review if you have the time!**

 **So happy you're all liking the story!**

 **The next chapter will consist of: a training session with May, security footage is discovered but that's not all you also get to see—**

 **Nah, I think I'll spoiling right there. :)**

 **Let me know what you think of Victor, Pat, all of them!**

 **Update soon!**

 **-AG**


	9. Discoveries on Both Sides

Chapter 6-

 **A message for SKYLIER and AWESOMEGIRL: Thank you so much for continued support but I thought it right to alert you that your characters ARE accepted, but they will not appear for quite a while. I promise that they are going to be super bad _ when they do appear! I haven't forgot them and I'm super excited to use them, it's just that they didn't quite fit in for a while! I SWEAR that when they appear it will be AWESOME so please don't stop reading because you'll have to read it to know what they're doing! They will be getting small appearances and POVs but nothing major. Please don't be mad! They'll be awesome, I promise!**

 **READ: So I have ran into a problem. Originally Stefans Mansion is in Italy, because the Hydra Base is. But I would like to include some people that live in New York. This is a problem because obviously the Mansion can't suddenly teleport. So IMPORTANT: I'm changing the location from Italy to New York.**

 **The team traveled to Italy to save the kids and then returned to New York. The Playground is located in lower Canada and the Mansion is in the New York Countryside. I know Italy was fun but I'm forced to change it. :( So if you're wondering about the edits, that's why. Sorry about the confusion. -AG**

 **Anyways, I hope you're all excited for this chapter! The action will start very soon! Hope you like the chapter!**

 **Shall we?**

 _The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

 _Training Mats, The Basement_

 _1 Week Later_

"Ow!" punch "Ow!" punch "Hey!" chop "Ouch!" Spencer said as May smacked the top of his head. It wasn't hard enough to leave a bruise, but hard enough to hurt. Some training this was. As soon as Lachlan had so stupidly agreed to becoming a S.H.I.E.L.D. team, training had begun. May was their teacher. _Joy to the world_ , Spencer though sarcastically. He held up his hands defensively and swatted at May as she skinned his ear with her chop.

"Yow!" Spencer yelped, swatting again.

"Keep up defenses on the left, right, top, bottom and center," May ordered calmly as she chopped and punched away.

"That's everywhere!" Spencer whined.

"Exactly," May narrowed her eyes, suddenly dropping down and sweep kicking him. Spencer shouted "Hey!" and landed on his rear firmly.

"You have to focus. You can't rely on your powers all the time," May commanded, helping him up, "Again."

Spencer groaned, "That's not fair! On the battle field I'll have the rest of the team to watch my back!"

May lowered her guard and gave a stern look, "Fine." Spencer relaxed a little. "Lachlan, Piper, Eleanor, Drew and Tamashi: please enter the training mat." May's glance snapped over to the five teens that sat on a metal bench at the edge of the training mat.

Uncertainly filled the room like a plague.

"Why'd you have to drag _us_ into this?" Piper whined, throwing her hands in the air.

"What'd you want me to do?!" Spencer demanded, throwing his hand in the direction of the S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot, "I was obviously out May-d!"

The team took defensive positions. Piper prayed briefly. Lachlan contemplated 'accidentally' twisting his ankle so he wouldn't have to fight. Tamashi crossed his arms, looking bored but he subtly tapped his right index finger against his arm, showing a sign of nervousness. Drew carefully took the back-most position while Eleanor casually made a subtle sidestep behind Lachlan.

"Fight!" May shouted, giving the okay to start fighting.

Spencer let out a roar and charged May, trying to keep the burst of adrenaline going for as long as possible. He gaped as May grabbed his upper arm and placed a hand on his waist, flipping him over her head. He landed on his back as Piper charged.

She made a few desperate attempts at punches but May blocked them all, jabbing Piper in the side before sweeping out her feet. Tamashi attacked bravely but received a strong kick to the stomach and a smack to the side of the head, sending him to the floor. Lachlan lasted a good minute before May side kicked him to last week. Drew ran at May full force, ducking under her legs but swiftly getting pinned by May. Eleanor's eyes were wide as she stared at May.

"Umm…" she muttered.

May walked menacingly at her, stepping over Lachlan, and Eleanor squeaked, ducking below a fist. May aimed a punch at her, her face stern, and Eleanor began running around the mat's edge, ducking and jumping fists and chops. May grabbed her foot and Eleanor went tumbling across Spencer's stomach.

"Watch it Half Pint!" Spencer wheezed, desperately wishing he wasn't in this position.

Eleanor muttered an apology and looked back up at May.

"You all need a lot of work," May sighed, "Lachlan; you lower your guard on the right side when you punch." Lachlan frowned. "Drew; you need to consider _all_ possibilities," Drew nodded solemnly "Piper: keep your defense up while you strike," Piper rubbed her side thoughtfully, "Spencer; never extend your arm while moving towards the enemy," Spencer nodded, beginning to shove Eleanor off of his stomach "Tamashi; don't leave your head open," Tamashi avoided eye contact, "and Eleanor:" the girl looked up nervously, "Never run from the opponent." Eleanor looked at the floor.

"Dismissed for now. Go get some lunch and we will continue afterwards," May ordered, narrowing her eyes and grabbing her sweat towel and water bottle before exiting the Training Mats.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Playground Cafeteria, the Playground_

The first time that Spencer had seen the Cafeteria he had been overjoyed. Sam Koenig, one of the agents at the base, had given him—and the rest of the team—the tour, and he was pretty happy with the outcome. A giant full stocked salad bar, fresh rotisserie chicken and turkey whenever needed, canned fruit, milk, water, soda, the whole of it. Sam had allowed the team to each take some samples on their first day and because of that Spencer was now friends with Sam.

The two had worked on giving the Cafeteria a cool acronym but all they could think of was: Cafeteria at the Playground (or CAT P) and that acronym wouldn't make people want to eat anywhere near it, so they disbanded that idea and just kept the plain old name.

Spencer held out his tray as the lunch lady and allowed her to put a piece of pound cake on it. Lachlan was behind him in line and the older teen raised his eyebrows at the lunch lady as she put the cake on his tray. Sure, she was pretty: dark hair, flawless skin, she was tall and athletic appearing.

"Do you have an raisins?" Lachlan inquired.

The girl raised an eyebrow, "No, sorry."

"What about some dates?" Lachlan continued, looking at the food choices thoughtfully.

"Nope," the girl shook her head.

"Wanna be mine?" Lachlan asked, smirking and lowering and raising his eyebrows.

Drew and Eleanor laughed. Piper smacked Lachlan in the back of the head. Tamashi rolled his eyes and Spencer laughed a little, grabbing Lachlan's arm and dragging him away.

"Dude!" Spencer scolded, "What was that?!"

"It's called a pick up line, give 'em a try sometime. Who knows, maybe even a train wreck like you could get a date!" Lachlan replied, sitting down at one of the circular lunch tables.

Spencer sat next to him, "That was terrible!"

"Agreed," Piper chimed.

"You didn't even give her time to answer!" Lachlan threw his hands in the air.

"We all knew her response," Drew was still laughing a little as he spoke.

"That was indeed failure," Tamashi agreed, his English was a bit ragged because of the slight accent it came with, but the point easily came across.

"Fine, even if that one didn't work, I have tons of backups!" Lachlan informed urgently, "I could get any girl with my pickup lines."

"Give an example," Eleanor recommended.

Lachlan put on his 'hey girl…' face, a smirk and a slightly raised eyebrow, "I'd take you to a bakery but there's nothing there that's sweeter than you."

Drew burst out laughing. Piper choked mid swallow. Eleanor giggled and even Tamashi cracked a smile, although he attempted hiding it behind his hand.

"Man, dude, you need help," Spencer said.

"What would you say?!" Lachlan challenged, looking Spencer dead in the eyes.

"Not into dating, bro," Spencer shook his head.

"Come on, I know deep down you know some funny jokes we all want to hear," Drew urged.

Spencer sighed, "I'd say something like 'Wanna make a milkshake? You bring the milk and I'll shake things up,'" Spencer said smoothly.

"Oh god. You're both hopeless," Piper sighed.

Suddenly a voice propelled itself over the Cafeteria via a speaker hidden somewhere Spencer couldn't pinpoint. It was a male voice and he sounded like the kind of person that didn't like fun.

"Challengers, please meet in Director Coulson's office. I repeat: Challengers, please meet in Director Coulson's office. That is all."

"Yes!" Drew cheered, "The name is sticking!"

"You heard the man," Piper said sternly, "Let's go."

The teens made their way up to Coulson's office, cautiously entering.

"You seem to be warming up nicely," Coulson smiled kindly and nodded his head in a greeting.

"Well, I guess," Lachlan said, scratching the back of his neck and feeling a bit taken off guard. Spencer compared. They had been here for barely a week and they were already treating it like home. Why? Well, for Spencer it was because he had never really had a home. Not that he remembered. That's what it was for most of the group. No home. No family. No one that respected them.

"Yeah, it's okay," Spencer announced casually, his defensive tone going up on instinct.

Coulson kept his professional manor as he tapped a button on a keyboard placed on his desk. A screen appeared on the wall behind the Challengers and Spencer had to nudge Drew's shoulder so that he noticed.

They turned around basically in sync and looked up at the bluish screen.

"Roughly 11 hours ago this footage was taken at a smalltime bank in the heart of New York," Coulson informed. The screen changed and went to a black and white video footage. 7 individuals appeared on the screen.

They appeared to be exiting the bank, each with their own stash of cash or jewels. It was cliché through Spencer's eyes but hey, whatever suits them.

"According to the one guard on duty, a man named Mr. Steve Foster, he was working when a series of gunshots broke through some of the glass doors. At that point he claimed that _molten lava_ burned through the cage bars and a tall strong teen walked in with large ammunition. Here's the police sketch," Coulson flicked his finger and an image popped up.

Chiseled features. Short military cut. "Dragunov," everyone said at once. He was recognizable even with the strange mask that he wore. It consisted of goggles and a hard mask covering his mouth and nose, a bit like the mask that had been worn by the 'Winter Soldier'—as the news had been calling him—a few months ago.

Coulson swiped back to the video, "Afterwards, Mr. Foster said that a woman walked through and her hands were dripping with heated lava." Rebecca. Spencer could tell. After all, who else could it be? Emma doesn't have lava, she has fire.

"Mr. Foster claims that another woman entered and suddenly he was forced to his feet and got a migraine. So far that half of it is unexplained. According to the NYPD the group has been calling themselves _the Shadow Syndicate_." Coulson informed, "Since this has to do with your previous acquaintances and you've asked to see any and all data that has to do with them, we're sending you on the mission to investigate the crime site."

"Investigate?" Spencer demanded, "That's it?"

Coulson tilted her head, "Yes. Is there a problem Agent Cassidy?"

Spencer rolled his eyes and put on a mock soldier tone, "'Course not Sir. Sorry Sir."

"Meet with May for your information on drop off and pick up," Coulson ordered, "Dismissed."

* * *

 _Stefans Mansion_

 _Private Property - Countryside New York_

"That was bull," Daniel announced as the group of teens (+a 9 year old) walked through the broad hallways of Stefans Mansion. "We've been here a week and all we've done is rob low quality—not even _high quality!_ —banks."

"Watch your tone," Vandella hissed.

"I _so_ don't take orders from a five year old!" Daniel said angrily, glaring daggers at Vandella.

"I am _9_ years old, you pathetic twit!" Vandella retorted.

"Please do not argue. It only wastes time," Daedre sighed, resting a hand on his forehead as he walked, "It was scientifically proven on Fe'Tug that you are more likely to win a war if you—"

"Just stop, you're gonna kill me of boredom," Daniel gave an annoyed look and slumped his shoulders in annoyance.

"Danny's right," Naia agreed, "Even for the dirtball that he is, he's right. We shouldn't be robbing banks. We came here promised that we would fulfill out fullest abilities, but we're still swiping jewels and bills."

"Agreed," Dragunov said simply, "Although I hate to disagree with Mr. Stefans, I would like to request a promotion from our current state."

"What'd 'ya suggest we do, Sugar?" Rebecca inquired, trotting forwards and wrapping her arms around Dragunov's arm. He didn't move but he obviously didn't like it. "With a man like you, I'm sure Kris'll listen to anything you got to say." She said flirtatiously.

The Shadow Syndicate, as they had decided upon, trotted down the fancy corridor before taking a sharp turn to the pool room, where Kris had said he would be. Sure enough, there he was, not in the pool but watching as a few of the ladies who worked for him swam around. He sat on a long tanning chair, sunglasses in place seeing that light streamed through the glass windows that made up three of the four walls.

"Kris," Naia called. She had taken up the leader-like position for the group and therefore filled the request to inform Kris on every mission they completed. "We successfully entered and exited the building with only one witness. We stole $200,000 dollars total plus a number of jewels."

"Well done, but there were a total of $500,000 dollars within that bank alone and I believe that you've gotten careless over the week," Kris informed, not bothering to look at the teens, "I do indeed understand the hardships and you're all doing _fantastic_ , just keep an eye on it, alright?"

"Yes Sir," Dragunov nodded.

"Alright," Emma said quietly.

"Sure," Rebecca agreed carelessly.

"How about this, give us a bigger opportunity," Daniel recommended subtly hinting to the earlier conversation.

Kris turned his head, now looking at them, "Pardon?"

"We've been thinking," Naia said reluctantly, but strongly voiced, "That we deserve to prove ourselves in a larger assignment." A chorus of agreement followed.

"I believe that you are absolutely correct!" Kris smiled enthusiastically, "Please, be my guest, I have found a large supplement of artifacts in an older warehouse. I believe they are illegally imported. Go there and gather as many as you can. One of my insights in S.H.I.E.L.D.—"

"Your insights?" Daniel demanded, "In S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Oh yes, I have an eagle eye currently in the S.H.I.E.L.D. base," Kris smiled mischievously, "As I was saying: one of my insights has informed me that the S.H.I.E.L.D. team is getting bored."

Kris had informed the villainous teens a few days ago that S.H.I.E.L.D. also had formed a team. While it hadn't much threatened them so far, Kris had been worried they may face a problem in the future.

"So I suggest you rob this warehouse and gain the attention of _the Challengers_ as they call themselves," Kris urged cheerfully, "I'm sure it will be a piece of cake."

"But are they not our comrades?" Daedre inquired.

Kris glared a bit, Rebecca shot a disgusted look and Emma looked torn.

"They _were_ our friends. Now they're just a mission. They _never_ cared about us," Naia spat.

Kris narrowed his eyes, the friendly smile was still pasted on his face, but it didn't seem as real. It was darker, more shadowed. "Like I said, I'm sure it will be a _piece of cake_." He said in a somehow still welcoming manor.

"'Course it will," Vandella said, "We can handle these dunces."

* * *

 _The Playground -S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

Spencer grunted as Fitz synched the belt a bit tighter.

"Fitz," Spencer wheezed, "I think that's tight enough."

"Right, sorry," Fitz smiled, "Just a wee bit worried about how the new gear is going to work."

Fitz turned around and Spencer quickly loosened the belt a notch. He let out a gasp. The Challengers had the privilege of testing out brand new armor designed specifically for the team. They all consisted of a protective black armor suit that resembled a seriously armored motorcycle jacket. The jacket was made of a strong fiber that was handcrafted by a specific S.H.I.E.L.D. team, it was lightweight but durable.

Along with the suit came a belt (for storage), combat boots, and a masquerade-ish mask. They weren't large or ridiculous, the team would be taken seriously for the masks. Each hero had a mask that was different. Spencer's was a black mask that left his eyes open but covered his forehead and right cheek, angling across his face. It left his mouth, other cheek and eye open but still managed to protect his identity.

Lachlan was in no need for a mask, seeing that his symbiote covered his face and body. He also didn't need armor, although Fitz seemed pretty disappointed. Apparently the Scottish engineer had designed a special suit of armor for the Irish born hero.

Piper had an elegant black half mask that covered only her eyes, leaving holes for her to see, and had an elegant feathered shape elevating from her left eye, it carefully curved over a tiny bit of the top of her head. Her mouth was left open to leave her scream open.

Tamashi's mask covered the lower half of his face only, leaving his eyes open. It was also a deep shade of black and gave him a bit of a ninja appearance because of his less armored clothing (to assist with his hand to hand abilities). The lessening of armor also assisted if he ever needed to teleport on a stealth mission without the use of noise.

Drew's mask was simple and neat. It covered the upper half of his face, including forehead and the top of his cheeks. It was a bit more covered than Piper's but didn't have the feathered shape. It was a more glistening black and Spencer could already tell it would glimmer in the moonlight. Drew's armor had been adjusted slightly; slits had been cut in precise places for his tattooed arms to make a quick escape when needed.

Eleanor's mask resembled a butterfly but it wasn't just black, it was splattered with a deep shade of red, giving an almost creepy appearance. Eleanor was happy with it and she could still glow. Her mask also consisted of a glass shielding covering her eyes. It didn't block her vision but gave an eerie effect when she glowed. Her eyes and the top half of her face wouldn't show in the dark, giving the image that she had a hole in her head and hopefully freaking out a few villains.

Over all the costumes were beautifully crafted and easily slipped on and off, they just needed quite a bit of maintenance after missions on the field. Earpieces were handed out, along with an extra pistol—apparently called an I.C.E.R.—that clipped to the back of everyone's belts.

"Drop off is at Point A and pick up is at Point B," May said, "You're in charge of getting from one point to the other. If you need help then you click the button on the back of your earpiece _twice_."

Everyone nodded and May led the way over to a Quinjet.

Spencer was second to enter the vehicle, following Lachlan and directly before Drew. The jet itself was bigger than Spencer figured, roomier and more professional looking than he had thought. It gave a somewhat inviting yet sturdy looking vibe, if that mad any sense what-so-ever. He took his seat and pulled the harness over his shoulders.

The group arrived at the sight roughly half an hour later, parking in an open section of the city street that had been blocked off with yellow caution tape. The Quinjet sent dust flying in all directions as it thudded to the ground, smacking Spencer's head against the back of the seat. He grumbled, rubbing the back of his head before standing up and exiting the vehicle, a loud hiss sounding as the entrance ramp lowered to the ground.

The street was relatively normal, except that the NYPD was working hard to contain a crowd of News Reporters.

"Sir!" one shouted.

"Miss!" said another.

"Are you with S.H.I.E.L.D.?" cawed a man.

"Or are you working with the NYPD?"

"What about you, Miss? You can't be older than 12!"

"Sir!" One said, shooting his hand out and grabbing Spencer's arm.

"Hey!" Spencer grunted as he was yanked backwards, he automatically made a force field around his hands, they acted as protection and made his punches hurt more. A police officer began detaching the man's hand from Spencer's arm but the man was strong. He looked Spencer dead in the eyes and waved a recording device in his face.

"Who are you people?" the man demanded, staring in interest at Spencer's force field enveloped hands.

Spencer looked uncertainly at Lachlan and Piper, who were subtly shaking their heads.

"You can call us the Challengers," Spencer said simply, not exactly in the mood to deal with this news anchor.

"The Challengers! This just in, News Channel 8 has heard it first! The new arrivals are called the Challengers!" the man cheered into the device, "And what is your name, young man?"

Spencer's eyebrow twitched in surprise, "Umm…I'm Psyox…yeah…Psyox." He said uncertainly.

"Psyox! The boy's name is Psyox!" the man repeated into the device, "And what about your comrades?"

Piper walked over. The officer who had attempted pulling the man off of Spencer was now struggling to contain the paparazzi who were all trying to record the heroes.

"You can call me Siren," Piper said professionally.

"And you Sir?!" the reporter demanded, obviously getting excited. He shoved the recorder into Lachlan's face.

"Anguish," Lachlan said, his voice sounding a bit broken, like someone else was trying to speak for him.

"And them?" the reporter inquired, gesturing to Drew, Eleanor and Tamashi, who were hanging back behind Spencer.

"Stripes," Drew shrugged, implying his tattoos.

"Glow," Eleanor announced, smiling a bit as she vaguely glowed.

"Kensaku," Tamashi said in Japanese.

At that moment someone else tapped Spencer's shoulder, he turned around and came face to face with a short girl, she was a bit pale, curly brown hair dropped down to her mid-back and light brown eyes looked into Spencer's. A scar on the right side of her lips gave her a permanent smirk-looking appearance.

"Detective Annaleise Callen," the girl said, holding up a dulled NYPD badge.

"You're a bit young for the police…" Eleanor brought up as the group began following Annaleise over to the abandoned bank.

"You should talk," Annaleise said playfully. The girl seemed a bit shy. She kept her hands behind her back and her head tilted downwards a bit, sending curls across the sides of her face.

"You said you were a detective?" Lachlan prodded kindly, "What age did you start training?"

"I've been good at this kind of stuff for pretty much all my life," Annaleise replied, "With my IQ placing at 142, it's kind of hard not to."

"142?!" Eleanor demanded, "You're a genius!"

Annaleise gave a side smile, "I guess…"

"We should split up," Piper said from the back of the group, "There's a lot of ground to cover."

"Alright, Scooby," Drew pointed at Spencer, "And Shaggy," he pointed at Tamashi, "You two go that way. And Velma," he gestured to Eleanor, "You can go with Fred and Daphne." Lastly he pointed at Piper and Lachlan respectively.

"Meanwhile, I'll go with the lovely Annaleise," Drew grinned.

Lachlan grabbed his shoulder, "Not alone you won't. Siren, go with them."

Piper gave a quick nod and trotted over.

"Glow with Kensaku and Psyox, you're with me," Lachlan ordered, doing a good job of keeping the identities hidden entities.

The groups broke off and started digging around.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _With Lachlan and Spencer_

The boys quickly got to work. The Challengers had chosen to break off into different areas. Lachlan and Spencer would take the inside of the bank, Tamashi and Eleanor would take a look inside the vault while Annaleise, Drew and Piper continued examining outside.

Spencer followed Lachlan through the massive singed hole in the metal bars and cracked glass. His combat boots crunched on broken glass that was scattered across the floor. Lachlan walked to the center of the lobby and began looking at where the guard had been positioned. Spencer walked over to the long steel bars that had been burned through. He brushed his gloveless fingers across the burnt bars.

A singing heat filled his fingers and he snapped his hand backwards away from the heated metal bars, cursing under his breath. "Still hot…" he said in disbelief.

"That's impossible," Lachlan said, "The robbery happened over 11 hours ago." The Irish born teen walked over and began inspecting the bars, "They'd have to be _over_ 3000 degrees Fahrenheit…that's hotter than Basalt!"

"I don't know crap about that, but if you're saying it's hot, than yeah," Spencer crossed his arms.

"Yeah, it's hot," Lachlan agreed, obviously interested in the topic, "That's _insanely_ hot."

Spencer rolled his eyes and stepped over cracked glass to the security officer's desk. A bullet had been embedded in the wall behind the desk. Spencer jabbed his fingers into the hole and detached the bullet from the beige wall, sending dusty plaster into the air.

Spencer slipped the bullet into one of his pockets, "I got a single bullet. Looks like a…Wilson Combat 1911 pistol…"

Lachlan paused and looked at Spencer, eyebrow raised.

"What?!" Spencer demanded, "I can't know something?"

"I didn't say anything," Lachlan remarked, focusing his attention back on the bars. He was collecting samples. "Anguish says that the bars were steel alloy, it'd take a lot to melt through them."

"Well, you know Becca," Spencer shrugged, "If she's gonna do something, she's gonna do it big."

"Suppose your right," Lachlan agreed.

Spencer clicked his Communications device, "Psyox here, we've found an array of damage. Suspect 1 has been denounced as Rebecca Sheinberg and we believe the guard escaped with his life purely out of luck."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _With Tamashi and Eleanor_

"Did you catch that?" Eleanor chimed, looking up at the taller Asian teen, who walked next to her in silence. He didn't respond. "Well, in case you didn't, Sp— _Psyox_ just said that they found some evidence."

Tamashi didn't even flash a glance.

"Alright then…" Eleanor sighed, looking around. They were walking at a brisk pace down a small hall to a large vault door, which had a wide hole singed into it. "Do you talk?" Eleanor asked abruptly but truthfully.

The Japanese boy had already been at the Hydra facility when Eleanor had arrived, although the skin around where his metallic arm attached to his shoulder was raw, suggesting his arm had been new at the time. But through the long 2 years Eleanor had spent at the torturous hell hole, Tamashi hadn't said one word to her.

Truthfully, she knew he talked. She had heard him speak, but never directly to her. Mostly it was just a sideways glare or an unimpressed look at best. He never actually said a full sentence directly to her, boy to girl. A 'mhm' had been mumbled at one point, and brisk nods were in at the moment, but never a single word.

"Speaking only wastes my voice," Tamashi said.

Eleanor paused, gaping at him. 5 whole words! More than she figured, by far. The powered youth had figured she might get a 'yes' or a nod, but never in her life would she have estimated _five whole words!_

"You do talk!" Eleanor chirped, "Why don't you talk to me?!" she demanded, "You talk to everyone else!"

"You are a child," Tamashi said calmly.

"So are you," Eleanor shot back.

"It seems we have arrived at the vault," Tamashi changed the subject, "I already sense residue of a heat filled magma, but there may be something else to find…"

"And you speak English fluently!" Eleanor snapped, "Why the hell don't you ever talk?!"

"Did anyone ever say I didn't speak your tongue?" Tamashi remarked, raising an eyebrow at the 13 year olds use of 'hell'.

"Yeah—well…no…but…" Eleanor thought for a moment, tapping her chin with her index finger, "But still! You should talk more often."

Tamashi gave a nod.

"We're back to the nodding thing?" Eleanor sighed.

Tamashi flashed a smirk.

"Better than nothing," the 13 year old sighed, following the Asian as the two began making their way back to the team to report their small findings.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _With Annaleise, Piper and Drew_

Drew drew in a breath and exhaled briefly. Why? Well, because they had a whole lot of work to do. The street itself was practically clean, as clean as it could be on the average day, _too_ clean, in fact. The Shadow Syndicate must have made some sort of escape, and yet, there were no traces of footsteps except directly outside of the door, where they they abruptly ended.

Annaleise had informed the two heroes that the NYPD had concluded the strange absence of footmarks was due to a vehicle, or transport waiting for them outside. That had happened around 5 minutes ago. The current problem was that none of the security cameras had picked up any of the Syndicate members.

The small trio sat, huddled around a NYPD tablet, watching the video.

"They might have been hacked," Drew suggested finally.

"I suppose so, but that would have had to be some extremely fast hacking," Annaleise sighed.

"Crazy fast. Unrealistically fast. Impossibly fast," Piper concluded, "Someone couldn't have wiped the files _and_ cut out the Syndicate at the same time, especially not within the 2 minutes they had to do it."

"Agreed," Drew nodded.

"So maybe that's not what happened," Annaleise recommended.

"Than what do _you_ think happened?" Piper inquired.

"Well, if you look," Annaleise pointed at the small timer in the right corner, "The time jumps from 10:35pm to 10:48pm within a matter of seconds. Maybe the Shadow Syndicate didn't remove themselves from the videos; maybe they removed the footage itself."

Drew took a closer look, "Oh yeah, it does jump…"

"I suppose that would make sense…but those cameras aren't easy to hack into, even if it was just cutting out footage," Piper brought up, "Back to the point of, only someone with a lot of skill could do that, and no one on that team knows how to hack: trust me, I know."

Drew nodded in approval, but paused, "What if it wasn't someone on the team?"

"Are you suggesting it was someone who had access to the video feed?" Annaleise questioned.

"Exactly," chirped Drew, "What if it was someone inside the…well…the place where they do that."

"But why would theywant to help the Shadow Syndicate?" Annaleise inquired.

"I assume because someone offered them a lot of money," Piper suggested.

"Makes sense," Drew frowned, "So now they have someone with a heck of a lot of money on their side. Fantastic."

"You're telling me," sighed Annaleise, sinking back into the rolling chair she was in.

"We should go meet at rendezvous," Piper recommended, looking at the small clock that was embedded in the wrist piece of her costume.

"At least we've got _something_ ," Drew said, looking at the bright side.

Suddenly his earpiece buzzed.

" _Shadow Syndicate has been located in a warehouse that contains illegally imported artifacts on the coast of Manhattan,"_ May's voice came through, _"5 Minutes until I'm airborne. If you want to come than get over here."_

 **I know it wasn't the best ending, but eh. So! In repayment for my late update I have given you an extra-long chapter that finished at a total of** _ **: 5**_ **,** _ **174**_ **WITHOUT the ANs!** **My longest chapter** _ **EVER!**_ **So, I really hope you enjoyed it. In the next chapter, the action will began. *smiles evilly*. I've planned up to Chapter 16! Ahh!**

 **Please feel free to make requests.**

 **Let me know who you want to see more of.**

 **I recommend** _ **21 Pilots**_ **' album;** _ **Blurryface**_ **for writing music, I just bought it but it can be found on Youtube as well. :)**

 **See everybody next time!**

 **-AG**


	10. Estranged

Chapter 7-

 **So, I'm back a bit early! And I thought you guys would enjoy this chapter. It's an eensy bit shorter than usual, but I'm hoping you'll like it. ;)**

 **ALSO. I'm officially on Summer Break, therefore I'll be updating a bit more often. Who knows, I might even have a second chapter up this week. I actually had this chapter ready the day after I posted the last one, but eh. I decided to wait. Enjoy the chapter.**

 **ALERT: This chapter uses POVs (like professionally announced POVs) which I won't be doing often, it just made this chapter easier.**

 **Special shout out to Xy-Guy and Elianora Annora, they've been really supportive and super creative. You go bros. ;)**

 **Shall we?**

 _Abandoned Warehouse Facility_

 _Coast of Manhattan_

 **Lachlan/Anguish VS Dragunov**

The Challengers stood face to face with the team of villains, now identified as the Shadow Syndicate. None of them had wanted to fight, but they had all seen it coming. From 18 year old Lachlan all the way down too little Eleanor, they all knew it would be violent. That's just who their past friends, turned enemies, were.

"Attack!" Naia shouted suddenly, her voice echoing around the warehouse.

Gunshots rang through the air, a series of them, unstoppable. Lachlan was thrown backwards, taking each hit to the chest. He winced, landing backwards with a solid _thud_. He then gasped, catching his breath. Anguish had protected him this time, but only because it was only Lachlan that enabled Anguish to move. Otherwise, Lachlan would be dead right now. The bullets lay in bent messes on his chest.

He lifted his head to see two things: the team staring at him anxiously, curious if he was okay, and Dragunov charging at him. "Go!" Lachlan shouted, jumping to his feet, bullets falling off his chest like sleds on ice, and charging towards Dragunov, swinging a wide punch at Dragunov's chiseled head.

His team jumped into action, attacking full force.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 **Spencer/Psyox VS Daedre/Xenon**

When Dragunov shot away, something hit his arm, but he ignored it. Instead, Spencer ran at Daedre as fast as he could, halting in his tracks abruptly and creating a force field. He pushed his hands forwards through the air and Daedre went flying backwards, crashing into an old computer panel that hung on the wall.

Daedre glanced at the panel, shaking his head. "Apologies," the blue skinned alien sighed, looking sincere. Spencer doubted it. They were evil now. Daedre set his hand on the panel, and suddenly it glowed, and Daedre's gloves double in size, turning into strength enhanced gauntlets.

Spencer cursed as Daedre ran at him, locking his fingers together and bringing them down full force on Spencer, who barely managed to create mini force fields around his hands. The fields acted as his own personal gauntlets, boosting his protection. Spencer felt a drop of sweat run down his forehead as Daedre punched him again and he created a force field to protect himself. Unlucky for Spencer, it took a truck load of concentration to keep focus on all of these energy fields.

"My employer is a dangerous man," Daedre warned, "He is not trustworthy. He has money, and power. You should be watchful."

Spencer ignored him and punched directly at Daedre's eyes.

"We do not have to fight…" Daedre said calmly, it _almost_ sounded like he meant it. He swatted the punch away, but didn't throw any himself.

Spencer narrowed his eyes, sweat beading his forehead as Daedre attempted to knee him, and he jumped out of the way, swinging an energy field enhanced punch at the alien. "This was your choice dude!" Spencer retorted, "You're the one who tried to kill me with your freaky Mars gauntlets!"

Spencer saw a flash of surprise in Daedre's eyes. Spencer created a force field around Daedre's feet and shoved him backwards while he was surprised, pinning him to the ground with another field.

The yellow eyed teen opened his mouth, "I wasn't trying to—"

Spencer raised his fist, "Sorry Dae—"

Suddenly a blast of heat hit Spencer's side, shoving him over before he could deliver a final blow. Spencer landed harshly on his shoulder and tumbled around. His shoulders crackled with pain and his back smacked onto the ground in a painful stop.

A small girl, 9 years at most, was walking at him, her right eye glowed red, "His name is _Xenon_ , freak."

Spencer's eyes widened as she fired another blast.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 **Tamashi/Kensaku VS Daniel/Quintain**

Tamashi slowly pulled out his wakizashi swords, yanking them out of their sheaths in one professional movement. 20 feet away, a deeply tanned Caucasian teen stood, smirking. The boy looked a bit older than Tamashi himself, with white hair and cold steel blue eyes.

The boy laughed once and pulled off the trench coat he was wearing, tossing it to the side. He unsheathed the katana strapped across his back. The boy was tall, a good 4 inches taller than Tamashi. He continued smirking as he ran at the Asian boy.

Tamashi jumped over his blade as the swordsman sliced at him.

"I don't believe we've met," the boy said, slamming the butt of the sword handle into Tamashi's side. Tamashi winced, pain aching through his ribs, but lashed out with his swords, aiming for non-fatal, but painful, areas. "You can call me Quintain. Can I call you Kung Pao?"

Tamashi narrowed his eyes, remaining silent as he slashed at Quintain.

"Nice try," Quintain commented, nicking Tamashi's shoulder with his blade. Tamashi winced secretively and swiftly cut at Quintain, barely grazing the older boy's arm. Quintain laughed. "Wow! You touched me! Come on! Give me something, China Boy!"

Tamashi huffed, trying very hard not to respond, he landed in a crouched position after jumping over Quintain's blade. Tamashi propelled himself upwards, leaping at Quintain and attempting to slice through Quintain's chest, only to find that it was guarded by a protective suit.

Quintain chuckled and spun 360, kicking Tamashi in the face and shoving him backwards to the ground. Tamashi groaned, bringing a hand to his bruised cheekbone.

He looked up as Quintain walked at him, blade drawn.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 **Eleanor/Glow VS Emma/Scorch**

Eleanor felt her feet get shoved backwards a bit as she blasted a beam of energy at Emma, who stood a good 30 feet away. Emma quickly caught attention and fired a scorching trail of fire at Emma. Emma grunted, getting shoved backwards as Emma's beam met hers and they faced off in a fiery battle.

The heat was unbearable, and the brightness practically blinded both Emma and Eleanor. Suddenly Emma ducked, the beam shooting over her head. Eleanor staggered forwards, her light beam trailing around the floor. She stopped it before it created too much damage and looked up. Emma had walked closer. Eleanor quickly lit her hands with an eerie glow and fired a blast. She missed a bit, only managing to swipe the edge of Emma's arm. The girl shouted, clutching her arm and stumbling backwards, but she swiftly regained her footing.

Emma fired a shot of heated flame and abruptly Eleanor's leg erupted with pain. She shrieked, falling backwards and clutching her burned leg.

"I'm sorry," Emma shook her head, tears lining her eyes. Eleanor's eyes widened in fear, matching Emma's. The two young girls looked at each other and Emma lifted her hands, blazing with fire. "Pray to whoever you worship….please…" Emma begged, "It'll be fast, I promise…" Emma sobbed. Eleanor stopped holding her leg and blocked her face with her arms.

But the blast never came.

Eleanor sobbed once, looking up reluctantly. Emma was no longer standing over her. She turned and saw Drew land harshly with Emma beneath him. Drew's tattoo arms were fully extended, all helping to pin the girl and punch at her. Eleanor scooted back, against the wall.

She tried desperately to catch a firm hold on her courage.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 **Drew/Stripes VS Emma/Scorch**

Drew pinned the younger girl to the ground.

"Stay away from her!" he growled angrily.

Emma continued muttering a series of 'I'm sorry's, squirming under Drew's dozen handed grasp. Drew punched her evenly with one of his real hands, landing the punch across her face. His good side urged him not to, because it was a girl, but after what she did to Eleanor, his good side quickly gave in.

He pinned her wrists to the ground when she began escaping his grip. Emma's hands then locked around his wrists and a terrible sharp pain hit both of his wrists from both directions. He gasped, drawing back but replacing his actual hands with two of his tattoo arms.

"I'm sorry," Emma sobbed, kicking at Drew. Drew blocked them rather easily with his extra arms, but favored his charred wrists. A tap came at his shoulder. On instinct, the 16 year old spun his head around. A mistake, he quickly realized as someone's fist makes contact with his jaw. Drew winced, looking up at Rebecca, who now stand before him.

She smiled mischievously, "Sorry baby," she said, making a faux pouting face.

She quickly fired a blast of magma at Drew.

Drew didn't have time to shout, frozen in fear, he instinctively brought all of his arms up, creating a shield around his face. He looked up when no molten rock came into contact with his homemade shield.

A girl stood in front of him, accompanied by the terrible smell of burning flesh. Drew bit back his vomit as he saw that the girl before him had a gaping hole in her stomach, still smoking.

"Dang girrrrrl!" the girl gave a disappointed-parent look, "What'd I ever do to you?!"

The blonde haired girl unsheathed two butterfly knives, running at Rebecca—who had a very confused look—the hole still burned in her stomach.

Drew got up, quickly spotting Eleanor and running over to help her.

He could have died.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 **Tamashi/Kensaku VS ?**

Tamashi leapt again as a blade whizzed barely a quarter of an inch beneath his face. He landed and staggered backwards a bit, getting tired. The Japanese looked up at Quintain, who had barely broken a sweat. The older boy smiled, running swiftly at Tamashi and slicing at Tamashi's neck. Tamashi ducked, but the katana cut into his cheek. Tamashi cringed, blood now flowing freely down his cheek.

He brought his swords together as Quintain brought his sword down, slamming it down on Tamashi's. Piper—who had recently been assisting Spencer with the mysterious 9 year old—'s scream pierced through the air and Quintain shouted, getting tossed backwards by the sheer power of the scream. Tamashi dipped his head in a thanks and Piper acknowledged with a distracted thumbs up as she continued to scream at Quintain, who barely dodged any of it.

Tamashi looked over to see that Lachlan was laying in a Lachlan-sized crater. Dragunov was on top of him, pounding the… _what would Americans say?_ _Crap?_ Pounding the crap out of him. Lachlan continued to try to escape, but Dragunov aimed every hit at Lachlan's chest, shoving him further into the concrete floor.

Tamashi began teleporting at Lachlan, his swords drawn. Every time the boy teleported, he entered his own personal dimension—the Port as Spencer called it—and exited it a split second later. In, out. In, out. In, out. That's how it went when he teleported. In, ou—

A sharp pain cut him off. It felt like someone had taken his skull and crushed it inwards. He closed his eyes and locked his jaw, not giving whoever was doing this the joy of seeing his pain. It was at that moment that he realized he wasn't fully through. Tamashi's eyes snapped open and he painfully ducked his head to see that he was flickering. He was currently half in, half out. His blood and internal organs constantly flickered, in, out, in, out. It sent terrible pain racking his body. He let out a shout of agony, struggling to move, but something was stopping him. Someone else was invading his mind and causing him terrible agony. Who else could it be? Naia was ruthless as she dug her claws into his soul, tearing it to shreds and keeping him frozen, unable to move. It brought back terrible agonizing memories.

And he was powerless to stop it.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 **Piper/Siren VS Daniel/Quintain and ?**

Piper shrieked at the mysterious teen that had attacked Tamashi. He had announced himself as Quintain, but she had never heard and/or seen him back at Hydra. She had absolutely no idea what to expect. She let out another screech at Quintain, shoving him backwards, into a series of wooden packaging crates. She swept her gaze over the room, eyes quickly widening at what it found.

Tamashi was frozen. Like a broken computer, he flickered, disappearing and reappearing at a startling rate. He was shouting in pain and cursing at Naia. The Italian girl was standing a few feet away, hand raised at Tamashi. Piper began trotting over when she noticed that Lachlan was getting pounded to a pulp over to her left.

All that could be seen of the Irish born was his arms, groping at the edge of the large cement crater he was in. Dragunov mercilessly pounded him down, almost as if he was trying to dig a tunnel and use Lachlan as the drill. Lachlan moaned in pure pain, trying helplessly to escape Dragunov. Piper figured Anguish was probably screaming at him as well.

She turned her gaze and saw Drew struggling to help Eleanor to her feet. The girl's calf was a charred mess, trailing blood in random places, and the 13 year old was sobbing, not daring to touch her leg, but feverishly limping to her feet. She let out a shout as her leg skimmed Drew's and she would have fallen if Drew's extra maroon arms hadn't been there to catch her.

Spencer had a single force field around himself. Sweat beaded his forehead and soaked his bronze hair. His chest raises and falls every other second, struggling to keep up with Spencer's ragged pain stricken breaths. Daedre swings at him with enlarged gloves, slamming them down on Spencer's force field while the strange 9 year old fires a continuous beam out of her right eye. Spencer grits his teeth as Daedre swings another punch, aiming lower this time, at one of the weak points, this is added to the 9 year old's blast and shoves Spencer backwards, his boots scraping the concrete.

A mysterious girl catches Piper's attention. The girl has long blonde hair that's buzzed off on one side and currently brought back into a messy ponytail. She wields dual butterfly knives and continuously slices at Rebecca, who's aiming magma filled punches at the girl. Meanwhile the blonde jumps and ducks, shouting things like "Ai yi yi!" and "Ye Haw!" A large hole seemingly has been burned into the girl's stomach, but—as Piper notices in disgust—red meaty material is weaving together, mending the hole and sewing it back together, leaving only the blood that has previously trailed down the girl's white t-shirt. Piper can't predict what she's going to do next at any moment, but she _seems_ to be on the good side.

Suddenly a muscular arm is locked around Piper's throat, restraining any air that tries to enter her lungs. She chokes, gasping for air and smacking her fists down on Quintain's arm. Quintain brings up his free arm, wiping the trail of flood that runs out of the corner of his mouth. He laughs.

"You're pretty good," he says, "I might've even considered dating you if we were on the side."

Piper ignored him, angrily clawing at his arm as black spots danced in her vision.

"Hey! Knock it off!" Quintain growled, grabbing her hands firmly and trapping them behind her back. And with that,

Piper inhaled one more time before everything went dark.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 **Naia/Vixen**

Naia had focused almost all of her energy on traumatizing the boy she now had in her psychic hold. He was frozen, mid teleport, and she was angrily pulling the life out of him, one small step at a time. The only way her concentration was broken was when Kris's voice came through on her earpiece.

"Vixen," he said smoothly, "Release the Asian boy and tell them that this was a warning."

She didn't respond.

"Vixen," said Kris, a bit more sternly.

Naia huffed, releasing the boy, who collapsed to the ground, eyes wide, and turned to the team of heroes, most of whom where unconscious.

"This is a warning!" she called over the space, "Don't mess with us!"

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 **Drew/Stripes**

Drew kneeled on the ground, protecting Eleanor who was huddled behind him, as Naia approached.

"This is a warning!" she shouted angrily, "Don't mess with us!"

Drew's stripes hovered, ready to attack at any moment, their pointed tips ready to pinpoint anywhere that was open just to protect the 13 year old that sobbed behind him. He tensed as Naia stalked closer, like a lioness hunting her prey. His wrists burned angrily but he ignored it.

A terrible skidding noise accompanied by grunts and groans poisons Drew's ears and he snapped his glance over to where Tamashi and Lachlan were being dragged over by Dragunov. Tamashi clutched his head between his hands, eyes screwed shut. Lachlan had his arms wrapped over his chest tightly, cringing in pain. Blood trailed down Tamashi's cheek and Lachlan's costume was stained with blood across his chest. The grunts came from Lachlan while Tamashi was continuously groaning and shaking his head.

Dragunov roughly tossed the two boys over to Drew, who didn't retreat from his defensive position, even as the boys landed harshly a couple inches away. He turned his attention to where Piper was being hauled over by Quintain, the mysterious katana wielding teen. Piper was unconscious and strong red marks suggest she was choked by Quintain. He smirked as he threw her to the ground, wiping a trail of blood from his cheek.

Dragunov and Quintain walked over to join Naia. Rebecca walked over as well, dragging the limp corpse of the unknown knife-wielding girl who had defended him earlier. A singed hole was burned through her head, taking out one of her eyes and most of the left side of her face. Her other eye was open, unmoving, haunting Drew with a deathly stare. Rebecca dropped the body by Drew and walked over to Naia. The striped teen remained stony faced, not daring to take another glance at the girl with the butterfly knives.

Daedre marched over, dragging Spencer behind him. Spencer was out cold, obviously exhausted from the latter events. The 9 year old—Drew swore he heard her say her name was Beam—trails behind the alien, looking sternly proud of her work. Daedre almost seemed remorseful as he _almost_ gently set down Spencer by Lachlan and Tamashi. The older teen walked over by Dragunov while the little 9 year old stood by Naia.

"Deliver the message," Naia hissed suddenly, "Don't mess with us, or we'll actually _try_ next time."

And with that, the Shadow Syndicate turned and left. The 16 year old mutant looked over at his team, and then at the singed hole in the blonde haired girl's head, which was slowly starting to mesh together. Drew's extra tattooed arms dropped limply to the ground, he fell forwards, landing on his arms and elbows.

And with that, with the image of blonde haired girl's face reforming, with the image of Tamashi shaking, with the image of Lachlan wincing in pain, with the picture of the red marks coating Piper's throat, with the image of Spencer's exhaustion, with the image of Eleanor's burns, all piled up in his head. Drew cried.

 **I know, I'm a terrible person. XD But it had to be done. While this story won't be extremely dark, it's not exactly gonna be for those readers who freak out with action. So, fair warning for this story: there will be lots of injuries, mentions of blood and quite a bit more—although NO sexual content will take place—will take place. Be prepared, things are starting to heat up!**

 **More battles to come, more injuries to be received. What do you think will happen?! Please leave a review!**

 **What did you like? What didn't you like? Who do you want to hear more of? I love reviews!**

 **-AG**


	11. Not Yet

Chapter 8-

 **I'm baaaaaaaack! XD This chapter will check back in with Coulson's team. To be honest, this chapter is a bit dark, I'm even going to apply a Torture Warning. But it is needed for the storyline! So, anyways, this chapter holds a lot of surprises and I hope you like it.**

 **Warning: Torture is involved**

 **Let's get right to it? Shall we?**

 _Crash Pad, Hydra Base_

 _Manhattan, New York_

Fitz trotted down the corridor, intrigued on the vast Hydra base. Coulson had recently gained control of a Hydra base known as the Crash Pad, a small Hydra facility that controlled most of Hydra's military, arms and vehicles. Fitz had become excited because a series of computers and monitors had been discovered in one of the lower floors and he was the first agent to get a go at them.

So he skidded down the stairs and swerved into the first room, entering through a metal doorframe. The door that had previous been there had been unhinged and set to the side. Computer screens lined the far wall and Fitz felt excitement build up inside of him. While he was more into inventing, computers intrigued him and he wasn't that bad at using them, so that was a plus.

He quickly double tapped the console and a password screen appeared. He typed in the passcode Coulson had found—through a Hydra member that had been taken to the Raft.

 **P.A.A.A.T.H.**

Path, spelled with 3 A's. Fitz had no idea what it stood for, Skye was currently working that case, but it didn't necessarily matter to Fitz what the acronym stood for, it only mattered what it unlocked.

The computer clicked and a new screen appeared, a home screen by the look of it. Fitz narrowed his eyes, examining the screen closely. File after file had been listed on the home screen, the file count in the top right corner read well over a thousand. Fitz cocked an eyebrow as he noticed the dates change. The Scottish engineer quickly scrolled down to the oldest file. It read: _Subject: Gaia_ and a picture of a girl with curly blonde hair could be seen next to it.

Fitz clicked the file. A loud buzz sounded, and an error message appeared on the screen.

"Fantastic," Fitz grumbled, x-ing out of the screen and scrolling back up to the newest file. His eyes widened when he caught sight of the picture. This file read: _Subject Theia_. Next to the type sat a picture of a young girl, no more than 11 years old, with deep cherry brown spirals of hair, her face was at the time flawless, no scars in sight. She had light violet eyes and pale skin. _Eleanor?_ Fitz inquired internally, his eyebrows raising in surprise. He clicked the file. The buzzing noise repeated, the error message showing its face once again.

Fitz cursed under his breath and pulled out his communications device, "Skye?" he asked.

"Yeah? This is Skye." came the crackly reply.

"I have a computer issue, I could use your help," Fitz suggested, "Sub Level 2."

"On my way," came the response.

A minute later Agent Daisy "Skye" Johnson was entering the room, laptop in hand. She swept her eyes over the panel of computers, "Alright. I see the problem. You got a thumb drive with you?"

Fitz pulled his spare out of his pocket and handed it to Skye. Skye slipped the drive into the main computer, downloading the files they recognized: Subject Aodie, Subject Polydeuces, Subject Arachne, Subject Aegis, Subject Hermes and of course Subject Theia.

"I'll take this back to the Playground and work on it there," Skye remarked as she left.

"Alright," Fitz sent the reply, "I'll stay here and take apart this hardware."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

Skye entered the Bus, finding comfort in knowing her surroundings. She climbed the hangar stairs up to the second level, where her bunk was located. Her laptop was cold under her right arm. She gripped Fitz's thumb drive in the other hand, curious on what could be found inside of it. She hopped onto her bunk's bed and sat, back leaning against the wall. Skye opened her laptop, the desktop appearing, she slipped in the drive. The files appeared.

It didn't take her long to hack them, a couple decoding files, a few passwords and boom. She was in. Skye looked over the series of files. The first file, located at the top of the screen, read: _Collected Data_Hydra-1._

Skye dragged her mouse over and a loading screen appeared, she plugged in her earbuds and stuck them in her ears. After a few long seconds the video began. It was definitely aged, and most certainly a date-to-date recording of something. A single figure was etched into the screen. It was a woman with pristine flawless features and wavy dark brown hair and eyes that looked like shards of sea glass.

"Data Log 1, Subject Polydeuces," the woman stated, without a previous explanation.

Skye raised a quizzical eyebrow, _Polydeuces_ , she had heard that before. Where had she heard that? It definitely hadn't been mentioned in a while. Sometime back in her school days, she assumed. _Polydeuces…Polydeuces…wait. That was Greek mythology,_ she quickly realized, Polydeuces _were the two twins: Pollux and Castor…right? The twins with dual personalities._

Skye tucked the thought away for later and snapped her gaze back to the video feed as the screen changed to new footage, the color disappearing and fading the video to black and white. A cement room seemed to be shown and a figure wandered around on screen, arms crossed, looking nervous. The details were pixelated and edged but Skye could see clearly that the figure, now recognized as male, was wearing prison garbs.

Her eyes narrowed as The boy, he couldn't be more than 17 at the time, looked up at the video-camera, noticing it for the first time. Skye then visibly startled as she caught sight of the facial features. _That's Lachlan_ , she thought reluctantly, _why is he in prison garbs?_

The video-feed crackled once and Skye cringed at the noise. The sound of a door creaking open filled her ears and she watched as a woman entered the stone room.

"Hello Mr. Butler," the woman, the same one that had introduced the video feed earlier, the one with the sea-glass eyes, said. "My—"the video feed crackled, "Name is *crackle*-a, C-*crackle*-o." _That's just great_ , thought Skye.

"Please do not struggle," the woman commanded.

"Hey what's _that?_ " Young Lachlan demanded in a crackly static-filled voice, directly before the sound went out completely. Skye was just barely able to make out the words 'hail' and 'Hydra' on the woman's lips.

Sea Glass held up a syringe and gave a small signal with her hands. In minutes two heavily armored men entered the room and walked menacingly at Lachlan. Lachlan punched one of the men in the face directly, sending him stumbling back in surprise. The second man ran at Lachlan but he ran back, tackling the man to the ground. Meanwhile the Sea Glass eyed woman watched in interest, syringe still in hand, she leaned against the wall, showing the all of her darkly colored—very revealing—dress.

It took almost fifteen men for the men to pin Lachlan, who only tired because of his lack of armor, which the guards were equipped from head-to-toe with. One of the guard's arms appeared to be dislocated and the other was favoring his right leg. Lachlan had certainly made quick work of the two professional Hydra guards.

Skye wasn't surprised, Lachlan was tough. Even though he wasn't the most muscular, he was one of the most determined people she had met.

The woman approached at a terribly slow, suspenseful, pace and crouched down by Lachlan, who was suffering the weight of the two armored guard's on top of him. Sea Glass stuck the syringe in his neck and he suddenly tensed. Suddenly Lachlan began writhing wildly, muscles tense and eyes wide. The guards quickly retreated with the woman, leaving the room and locking the door.

Lachlan continued convulsing, arching his back and scraping his nails on the concrete. He was obviously screaming, terrible wails of agony. Skye was thankful the sound had left the video, for she didn't want to hear the audio for this portion.

Skye continued watching the seemingly never ending pain filled video. Suddenly Lachlan began clawing at his throat. Like something out of a horror movie, Lachlan began choking as something or _someone_ began clawing their way out of his throat. But this _someone_ didn't have the form of a human being, it took the form of a mass of symbiote. A glossed over putty that yanked its way out of Lachlan's throat using small tendrils.

Skye clasped her hand over her mouth, her eyes filling with tears. Her hand shook as she scrolled over the full length of the video. 3 hours. There were 3 hours remaining in this segment. She skipped through it, watching the violent procedure as Anguish, Lachlan's symbiote, became bound to his body.

When the feed finished Lachlan was fully clad in Anguish and was barely living, his blood created a cruel pattern around him. The woman entered once again, looking down on her work. She gave a signal and Lachlan was dragged out of the room, a trail of blood in his wake.

Skye felt wet stains where tears had walked across her face. She shakily wiped them away and flinched as the woman appeared on screen again.

"All Data: Subject: Aegis," she said, as calm as ever. She looked younger this time; her hair was pulled back in a braid and she had a more youthful uncertainty to her tone. Obviously this video feed was older.

Aegis, more Greek mythology. It was a guard, or a pelt or something. A shield: that sounded about right. It supposedly was a shield that protected those who needed it. A shield?

Skye frowned as the woman continued talking.

"This was an interesting subject. His mother, Gretta Cassidy, is a remarkable Hydra agent and therefore dedicated her first born son to the cause. We've decided on testing the Time Lapse experiment on him. We'll be asking him to comply at a young age and continue the treatment until he agrees," announced a younger version of the Sea Glass woman.

 _Cassidy, Cassidy, Cassidy_ , someone in the Challengers had that last name, but she couldn't put her finger on who it was, the teens barely ever spoke their last names.

The video changes to another room, more comforting than the stone one it seemed. It had a large screen covering one of the walls and a metal chair facing the screen. Skye watched as a man entered the room, dragging a child behind him by the arm. The child was a small boy, probably around 4 or 5. He looked worried and continuously mouthed the word 'mom'.

The man ruggedly shoved The boy into the chair and strapped his arms and legs down. The boy didn't fight, but looked worriedly up at the man, a fearful look in his eyes. The man pointed at the screen and The boy fearfully looked over. Skye's eyes widened in fear as Hydra's Compliance Video began playing over. The boy obviously realized as well and quickly closed his eyes.

Skye flinched as an quick electrical buzz ran up the chair, only visible as a small buzz of blue light, and shocked The boy. He shouted, silent like the rest of the feed, and looked worriedly back at the screen. Once again The boy looked away, and once again he was shocked, this time for longer.

Skye's eyes grew wide as a force field appeared around The boy and the chair, The boy now crying, hands balled in fists. The man left the room swiftly and The boy continued bawling. A minute later a woman walked into the room. She shared some of the facial features that the 4 year old boy sported. They both had strong chins and thin features.

The woman held up her hands comfortingly, seemingly trying to calm The boy as he called out for his mother to help him. Skye felt anger and sadness rise up in her all at once. What kind of mother would do this to her own child?!

Skye skimmed the video again and found she could easily compare it to a time-lapse. In the next clip The boy was older, around 6 or 7, in the next he was 9, after that came 10 and 11, 12, 13. In every single video The boy was forced into the room to watch the video. At some moments he seemed resilient, kicking, punching and screaming. Other times he seemed to have lost all hope, dragging his feet and looking at the floor. At an estimated age 14 Skye paused the video.

His features were more defining now. Bright eyes, close cropped hair, dancer's muscle. He could now be recognized as a younger version of Spencer. Skye stopped the video, needing a minute to process.

She was seeing the torture videos of the Challengers. She was seeing the pain that they endured. Would she be able to handle this? Should she tell Coulson? The Hacker let out a shaky breath and got up to close her door.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

After a few minutes of consideration Skye decided against telling anyone for now. She sat back down and shook out her hands, swallowing hard and putting in her earbuds. She continued watching the terrible video.

"All Data: Subject: Aoide," said the woman as she appeared on screen once again, this time her brown hair was kept in a neat bun. _Aoide_ , err, that was one of the harder ones. That was one of the 9 muses, or the original Greek goddesses, wasn't it?

"Hydra was intrigued when we discovered that Susie and David Harpers were willing to sell their machine. We traveled to their household only to find that they expected us to make them rich. Hydra then proceeded to remove the problem and locate the machine, along with Subject: Aoide," said the lady calmly.

The film quickly swapped; suddenly Skye was watching video off of a Hydra soldier's head cam. She was seeing what the soldier saw that night from a camera that had been placed on his head. Skye furrowed her eyebrows as the Hydra soldier looked up to see two figures: a man and a woman, looking at the guard with a crazed look in their eyes.

The guard raised his gun, along with the platoon of Hydra soldiers that stuck to his sides. Skye muffled a surprised gasp as the man and woman were shot down and stepped over by the guards like forgotten toys.

The man that Skye was seeing through quickly jogged up a staircase, leading Skye to realize that the video took place in some sort of house. He turned a corner and kicked down a door. A small 10 year old girl was huddled by her bed. Skye almost instantly recognized the girl as Piper due to her heart shaped face and tall cheekbones.

Piper's mouth opened and suddenly a window by the guard shattered, sending glass raining onto the carpet. She screamed again and the video went to static. It transitioned to video of an older Piper, 14 probably, screaming at targets and taking them out easily with a projectile scream.

The video feed cut back to the woman, "We quickly discovered the corpse of Subject: Aoide's assumed older brother in the basement of their two story home. Hydra has made the conclusion that it was Aoide's parents that executed the eldest child through the same process used on Aoide to inject Aoide with her supernatural abilities."

Suddenly the video sizzled and the woman seemed to age briefly, now wearing a new outfit. A new video had begun. "All Data: Subject Arachne." Arachne, that was an easy one. Goddess of spiders.

This time the video changed to another image of the woman, this time she was walking at a brisk pace towards a Hydra vehicle disguised as a cliché black van. She was clad in black armor and had her brown hair held back in an updo.

She hopped into the back of the van along with whoever was in position of the head-cam that provided the footage. Four other armed guards accompany them in the van. Suddenly the woman began talking, startling Skye as she thought the video was silent like all the others. It made sense however, because this video seemed newer.

"We have discovered an anomaly in the household of the Ponds. Recent events concur that the son of the Ponds has been named a Freak of Nature. He will become a valued member to the Hydra cause," cooed the woman.

The van drove for a good ten minutes before the van door slid open and revealed a worried looking 14 year old boy with stripes crossing his face. The boy could easily be recognized by Skye as a younger Drew.

He wore a black backpack, which suggested Drew had, at the time, just finished school. He let out a shout as one of the Hydra men reached out with a muscled arm and tugged him into the van. Drew began shouting. The tattooed stripes released from his skin and began slicing at everyone in the van as he struggled in the men's grips.

Drew managed to skewer one of the guard's arms and slice open another's side. The woman with the sea glass eyes set a hand on both sides of Drew's head when the men finally got him pinned, and even then Drew appeared to have the upper hand. Suddenly Drew's attacks began weakening, at the same time Skye noticed that the woman's eyes were closed and she appeared to be concentrating. Drew's struggles continued weakening until they disappeared entirely and his breaths slowed to those of sleep.

Skye cocked her head, so the woman had some sort of mind control, and yet she hadn't used it until now. The video swapped once again, this time to a security camera that had a perfect view of a laboratory.

In the Hydra lab was a long metal table under a bright hanging white light. Strapped to the metal table was a boy. His shirt had been removed and his skin was pale from blood loss. Drew looked worse than ever, his maroon stripes stuck out brightly compared to his pale skin. Clear tubes stuck out of each of his wrists, but they were flowing with blood.

The woman walked in, trailed by a Hydra scientist. She quickly removed one of the IVs that had filled up about 1 fourth of the way with blood. She replaced it and exited the room, leaving Drew barely alive, the blood coursing out of his veins.

When the video feed ended Skye was almost re-watched it to make sure she hadn't missed something. It was shocking that Hydra hadn't forced Drew into enduring any other form of torture.

 _All Data: Subject Theia_ appeared on the screen in white words, rather than by the presence of the woman. Theia, that's the goddess of light… Skye snapped her gaze back to the screen as the woman once again showed up. She looked excited, smiling, an action that looked completely out of place on this woman's features.

"Success!" she chirped, "Subject: Theia has agreed to comply! After the murder of her parents Hydra began Project Compliance on Subject: Theia and after much _persuasion_ on Hydra's part, the subject has become agreeable."

The footage changed to that of a girl huddled in a corner. She looked to be 10 or 11 and was nodding furiously.

"Alright," the girl stuttered, "I—I'll comply. Mhmm. I—I'll do it. I—I promise. Just d—don't m—make me watch t—that video anymore."

Skye recalled Fitz mentioning to her that he had seen a picture of Eleanor with the name Theia by it. She quickly realized this was a scared Eleanor that she was seeing.

The woman reappeared on the screen, "Subject: Theia seems a bit traumatized but there's a high rate of recovery and therefore we are hoping she will recover. If not, Project Compliance, otherwise known as Faustus, will be disbanded.

Skye froze. _"Project Compliance will be disbanded_ , _"_ If Eleanor hadn't recovered than the Compliance project would have been discontinued.

Carl Creel would have never killed Agent Hartley and Agent Idaho. Hunter would have never joined the team. The Bus would have blown up when Agent 33 had planted that bomb. Agent 33 would have never worked for Hydra; she would've been killed instead. Octavian Bloom, a former leader of Hydra, would still be alive seeing that Hunter would have never killed him.

If Hunter hadn't killed Octavian then he wouldn't have ever gone on the mission. He wouldn't have discovered the second S.H.I.E.L.D. In fact, the Inhumans would be unheard of. Donnie Gill wouldn't have worked for Hydra.

So many things would've changed.

Skye was shoved out of her thoughts as the woman's voice infiltrated her ears once again.

"All Data: Subject: Hermes," announced the woman in the same monotone she had been using for the rest of the titles. Hermes, that's the God of transition and boundaries. There's only one person Skye hadn't seen yet, therefore she already knew this video was of Tamashi.

The woman reappeared in a new outfit and quickly began speaking, "Unfortunately Subject: Hermes is rebellious. While I suggested we try Project Compliance on the subject, but Fuhrer Stefans disagreed." Fuhrer Stefans? Skye wondered who the mysterious character could be. "Apparently the Subject has performed in this manor more than once and therefore Mr. Stefans has called upon me to assist in the subject's punishment."

Skye narrowed her eyes in concern as she continued watching.

A wide space appeared on screen, some sort of lunch-area it seemed. A barely younger version of Tamashi was standing defiantly in the center of the room, arguing with a Hydra guard. Spencer sat at one of the tables, eating quietly and flashing his glance at Tamashi in interest. Skye took notice in the fact that Tamashi wore the same prison garbs as Lachlan had in the first video.

The woman suddenly entered the room, walking in with the face of a lioness stalking her prey. She held up her hand and Tamashi froze, seemingly fighting himself as he dropped to his knees. Tamashi struggled harshly, tense and shaking, obviously not in control of his body.

A man then entered the room. He had broad shoulders and wore an expensive looking suit. He had tidy brunette hair and dark blue eyes with high cheekbones and a strong jaw line. The man was buff and looked ready to take anyone, anytime. Skye quickly realized this was the popular Fuhrer Stefans from his manor of professionalism.

Stefans walked over to Tamashi, who was struggling to gain control of his body, and grabbed a firm hold on Tamashi's right wrist. There was a bone-chilling pause where Tamashi and Fuhrer Stefans met eyes. Tamashi's eyes were filled with a terrible anxiousness while Stefans was unreadable, like a stone slate.

In the corner of the screen Spencer stood up, but he was quickly blocked by the Hydra guard Tamashi had been arguing with.

Suddenly Stefans jerked his arm backwards, and took a few steps back, pulling back with one large jerk. It took Skye a moment before she processed what had happened. She glanced from the stunned Tamashi, who was still kneeling, his mouth frozen in a paused scream, to Stefans, who now had the Teleporter's right arm locked in his hand.

But the arm wasn't attached to Tamashi any longer, it had been detached, ripped from it's seams. Stefans turned and left, abandoning Tamashi's arm a few feet away from The boy himself. The woman trailed his heels. Spencer ran forwards as Tamashi collapsed to the side, landing on his good arm, sobs racking his body. Spencer quickly formed a force-field around Tamashi's shoulder, parching the bleeding temporarily.

Skye remained frozen, unsure what to do or say. She flinched violently at the sound of the woman.

"Subject Hermes will take part in Project Wakanda tomorrow."

She gasped quickly as her door opened.

"Skye?" Coulson inquired, "Did you find anything on that drive? Fitz told me you had it."

Skye suddenly made a decision, suddenly happy she wasn't crying, "Nope. All it was was a bunch of deceased prisoners, nothing important." She said, pasting a smile on her face.

She wouldn't tell Coulson.

Not yet.

 **Ta da! I hope you all liked learning about everyone's pasts! Please let me know what you thought of every Challenger's past! I love hearing what you all think!**

 **I'll see everyone next time!**

 **Stay amazing! :D**

 **-AG**


	12. Aftermath

Chapter 9-

 ***dramatic music* Welcome back to this week's special episode of Children of Hydra! Yay!**

 **Sorry I'm late again guys…hehe…consider it a vacation week? Hehe…yeah, I'm up north for the 4** **th** **, so…yeah…I know, I know, I'm gonna try to write 2 updates this week but we'll see.**

 **I'd just like to thank everyone so much for all the support I've gotten for this story! Thanks guys! I've got people asking me when I'm going to update because they're so excited! That's never happened before! Thanks so much! :D**

 **Anyways, a few things quickly,** **please read** **(THEY WILL BUILD EXCITEMENT):**

 **Firstly, someone asked what ages each of the heroes were and I realize I haven't mentioned that directly. So, you're wish is my command, here they are:**

 **Lachlan is 18 (the oldest), Spencer is 16, Tamashi is 16, Drew is 16, (the trio of brotherly friends), Piper is 15 and Eleanor is 13 (the youngest). Pat and Victor are 17. Kris is 19 (yes! Only 19!), Dragunov is 18, Emma is 16, Daniel, Rebecca and Naia are all 17, Vandella is 9, and Daedre has the** _ **appearance**_ **of an 18 year old. (I'll leave you all to ponder what that means.)**

 **Secondly, AwesomeGirl was wondering if you guys had met** _ **all**_ **of the allies? The answer: NO! You have not!** _ **As of right now**_ **, there are 2 allies that you have** _ **NOT**_ **met and THEY ARE NOT LISTED ON MY PROFILE! Keep in mind that allies can be good OR bad! ;D The allies won't be coming in for a while, but I'll keep all of you excited. :)**

 **I've got tons planned so I hope you're all excited!**

 **Shout out to OfeliaSevil for being super supportive!**

 **Oh…and did I mention that comic characters (other than Coulson's team) will make an appearance. :)**

 **Shall we?**

 _FURY BASE 8_

" _The Playground"_

"Who's she?" Pat inquired, glancing at a girl with dark purple waist length hair.

"Lana Thalmow," Coulson replied, "She works undercover for us at Hydra. She took up the position after Agents Morse and Simmons were discovered. She's a skilled biochemist that was brought in for an extra hand, seeing that the Challengers almost got themselves killed."

"Can't argue with that," Pat nodded in agreement, following the older man as he led the way down the corridor. She felt naked seeing that she'd given her knives to a friendly guy at the entrance of the S.H.I.E.L.D. base, not that Pat needed them, she could handle herself.

Coulson took a turn into his office and walked over to his desk, sitting down on his chair and putting his elbows on the table. Pat sat down in a chair across from him, on the opposite side of the desk. She flicked a blonde lock out of her eyes and glanced around the classically chic office.

Pat whistled, "Nice place you got here," she said in an impressed manor, sweeping her eyes around the room.

"If you're looking for a weapon, there aren't many," Coulson informed.

"As if," a look of disbelief crossed the 17 year old's face, "I don't have to worry that you're gonna kill me. You can if you want, I guess. It doesn't really matter. My _supernatural abilities_ sorta take care of that."

"About that," Coulson leaned back into his chair, obviously taking advantage of the change of subject, "My men say that you had a cerebral injury when they found you—"

Pat laughed loudly, "Yeah," she said between laughter, "You could say that."

"And that injury healed due to your _abilities_?" Coulson pressed.

Pat nodded, halting her speech as the Director began taking notes on a notepad he had scattered on his desk, "Don't let me stop you," he insisted, "Your abilities are?"

"Oh you know, the usual: never dying, immortality, not really needing a heart, living even if said heart is missing from its place," Pat replied dismissively.

"Fantastic, another Deadpool," sighed the Director exasperatingly. Coulson looked Pat dead in the eyes, "Why were you in that warehouse?"

"Shopping! _Duh!"_ Pat laughed.

"Shopping? Those artifacts were illegally imported. If that's the case then I guess I should turn you over to the Fridge," suggested Coulson.

Pat's voice suddenly dropped to a gravelly low, " _I wasn't shopping for artifacts you twit!"_ Coulson tensed and Pat burst out laughing, instantly back to her sarcastic self, as if the latter had never happened. "I was shopping for the Super Squad!"

"You were after the kids?" Coulson said in surprise.

"Super Squad? Yup," Pat smiled in agreement, "Cha-ching!" she paused for a second, "Hmm, you know I'm thinking of dying my hair pink…what do you think?"

Coulson narrowed his eyes, ignoring the question, "Who wants them? How much are they paying you?"

"Yeah, pinks a nice color… _Unfortunately_ I can't rat out Mr. Bossman," Pat sighed, setting the back of her hand on her forehead in a dramatic pose.

"Mr.? So the supplier is male? The only male criminal in New York with that much stock is Wilson Fisk," Coulson quickly shot out.

Pat raised an eyebrow, "Damn…I guess you can go arrest him then." She smiled mischievously.

Coulson gave a look of doubt, he continued, trying his hardest not to show any doubt in his speech, "I'm willing to double whatever he's giving to you if you agree not to injure or abduct them in any way."

"Double it? I dunno if you have that kind of money, James Bond," Pat crossed her arms and rocked on her chair.

"I've got a friend in Wakanda who would say differently," Coulson retorted.

Pat seemed to consider for a moment, "Alright. Fine. I'll keep my paws off the Super Squad."

There was a long silence.

"You gonna tell them that I was gonna hand 'em over to be sold as entertainment?" Pat inquired.

"No. But if you lay a hand on any of them, I'll be sure to give you a nice new home in the Fridge."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Outside of the Medical Ward_

Spencer wasn't fond of neither quick movements nor loud voices, both of which were currently occurring in this Medical Ward. Doctors were rushing around, all trying to attend to their given hero, frantically waving sharp medical syringes about. Spencer ducked as a man's arm came at his face, it swung overhead, skimming his hair as he let out a sigh of relief.

"Watch where you're going!" he growled, standing back up. The man continued rushing through the crowd of S.H.I.E.L.D. doctors, running towards an unknown Challenger.

A woman charged at him and he barely dodged, almost tumbling into a long syringe that a nurse was sprinting down the hall with. Someone smacked him in the back with their arm and another somebody jabbed their knee into his. _Jesus,_ Spencer thought as he dodged another

Spencer plopped down on one of the waiting room chairs. He kept his left hand clasped over his right bicep, blood slowly oozed between his fingers. He remembered feeling something hit his arm at the beginning of the previous battle, but he wouldn't have guessed it was a bullet. He then figured his adrenaline had blocked the pain, but he run out of that now.

The 16 year old winced as he adjusted his seating position. He looked back into the swarm of doctor's. A nurse had come up earlier and asked if he was okay, of course he had insisted he would be fine. Majority of his friends had worse injuries than he did. One might say that he got out lucky, but in all honesty Spencer would rather be suffering with his friends than sitting here alone.

He tried not to flinch in surprise as Skye sat down next to him.

"How are you doing?" she asked kindly, glancing at his arm.

A new line of crimson blood fell down his arm, "Oh, I'm doing just _swell!_ Yeah, me and my new bullet wound have gotten to know each other quite well." He said sarcastically, plastering a smile—more of a grimace, really—on his face for a brief second.

Skye frowned, "What about everyone else?"

Spencer let out a long breath, "Lana said that—"

"Who's Lana?" Skye interrupted.

"A S.H.I.E.L.D. biochemist and a spy that works in Hydra for S.H.I.E.L.D., or at least that's what I was told," Spencer shrugged, immediately regretting it as a sharp pain made his fingers twitch. "Anyways," he said through gritted teeth. "Lach is in the emergency room with Jemma, he's tough so, I mean, he's not _too_ bad off…but he's not great. Piper's getting a checkout from Fitz, 'cause her voice is crap from whatever kind of choke hold that _Quintain_ guy used on—"

"Quintain?" Skye questioned, interrupting once again.

Spencer gave her an annoyed look, "Are you going to let me finish, or not?"

"Sorry," Skye said, although Spencer didn't really feel that she meant it.

"Eleanor is with Lana, also in the emergency care unit, apparently her burns are a lot worse than we originally thought," continued Spencer, leaning back into the soft chair and staring out at the rushing herd of doctors, "The freaky healing knife girl is talking to Coulson." Skye cocked an eyebrow. "Don't ask." Spencer advised. Skye nodded. "Tamashi is talking to May and her….husband (?) Because of his PTSD."

"PTSD?" Skye inquired.

Spencer snapped his glance at Skye. Whoops. He'd let too much slip. "Nope. I said _GMSTTHD_." He said quickly.

Skye gave him a questioning look.

"You _know_ , erm…Getting Mentally Stabbed Through The Head Disorder…" Spencer looked at his feet, knowing he had lost.

"Yeah, right. 'Cause that totally sounds like PTSD. Why does he have PTSD?" Skye continued.

"Bad memories," Spencer said shortly.

Skye sighed and Spencer turned to her in interest.

"I know about the memories. I know about what happened to you guys in Omega Point," Skye said suddenly, keeping her voice low.

"What?" Spencer demanded, jerking upright and hissing as pain struck through his arm. "How did you find out?!" he growled lowly.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. discovered some security files at a Hydra base called the Crash Pad. I…saw everything…" she said slowly.

Spencer glared at her. How could she watch those?! And without their permission?! Spencer was going to have a nice long chat with Coulson. He didn't go digging through all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files whenever he wanted! And besides, if S.H.I.E.L.D. knew they were those specific files, why didn't they alert the team that the files had been discovered in the first place? That should've been announced right away, mission or not.

"Spencer?" Skye asked turning to the teen.

Spencer glared up at her, seriously annoyed that he hadn't been alerted about the videos.

Skye's face showed dead seriousness as she spoke, "Who's _Fuhrer Stefans_?"

Spencer froze, eyes widened as he stared at Skye in shock.

"Spencer?" Skye inquired worriedly, setting a hand on his good shoulder.

Spencer flinched away from the hand. He looked away from Skye, staring at something unseen. He felt anger, pain, frustration and fear bubble up inside him all at once. The emotion was overpowering and he desperately tried to stop his hands from shaking. A swarm of memories continuously attacked him.

All of the torture, the pain. The years he spent in that stupid room with that stupid screen, watching that stupid video. Over and over again. Every single day. He hated it. He hated Stefans, the man that had forced him into the room. Stefans could go die. Spencer would kill him. After all of the pain and trauma that Spencer's friends and he had been through, Spencer would trade his life just so he could kill that man. He _wanted_ to kill Stefans.

"Spencer!" Skye snapped him out of his daze, "Be careful." She urged, gesturing to his wound.

"He's an old friend," Spencer said sarcastically, finally answering the question.

"What about the woman?" Skye continued.

Spencer felt fear overtake the other emotions, "The…the woman?" Skye nodded. "She's…well, I don't know much about her." He quickly regained his footing. "She's Stefans' dog." He said more sternly. "She calls herself Aeron, she told us her real name once…I don't remember it now. I don't think she ever worked with the Shadow Syndicate in Hydra, she was assigned to us. She's the woman who would check on us every day and make sure we didn't try anything."

Spencer cursed mentally as he pictured those sea glass colored eyes.

Skye nodded, seemingly deep in thought, "Alright, that helped a lot. Thanks."

"Yup," Spencer sighed, leaning back into his chair. Skye got up and hurried away, probably to some lap top or computer. Spencer liked Skye, she was nice to him. She treated him like a human, not a lab animal.

He frowned and looked at his shoulder. With a quick flick of his left hand, a small flat force field appeared over his wound, like an invisible bandage. The bleeding subsided and he released his hand, closing his eyes and resting his head on the wall behind him. His powers had their perks, as long as he kept up concentration, he could make thousands of useful tools: bandages, steps, shields, helmets, you name it.

And yet, even with his powers, he—and all of the Challengers—had been easily beaten by the Syndicate. He started to ponder where they were now. Someone dark, probably, like in one of those cliché movies.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Stefans Mansion_

 _Private Property—Countryside, New York_

"Turn on the lights, I can't see 5 freaking feet in front of my face," Rebecca ordered angrily as the villains entered the main room of the mansion. It was a large room with a vast carpet covering most of hardwood floor, a golden chandelier hung from the ceiling and a wide wood staircase was at the end of the room, leading up to the second floor.

"Fine! Calm down! Jesus, we just got here," Naia snapped back, flicking on the light switch.

The Syndicate quickly chorused in a quick arrangement of calls:

"Kris we're done!"

"Mr. Stefans, we've returned!"

"Stefans! We're back!"

"And we kicked the heroes' asses!"

A minute later Kris appeared at the top of the stairs and began walking down them in paced graceful steps. He stopped halfway down and smiled brightly, clapping his hands together.

" _Kicked asses?"_ Kris asked, his polite tone not suiting his words, "Do tell." He insisted.

" _Well_ ," Daniel started, beginning to walk up the stairs towards Kris. He was closely followed by the others. "We got to the warehouse and Dragunov set off the alarms to get the Challengers' attention."

"It didn't take long before those poor babies were comin' right to us!" Rebecca butted in, laughing cruelly.

"And? How did they attack? What threat did they pose?" Kris inquired with a childlike excitement.

"Lachlan, or Anguish—as he now calls himself—could be considered a threat," Dragunov spoke strongly but uncertainly, "As much as I hate to admit weakness, he could withstand 6 precisely aimed shots to the chest, it took almost all of the battle for me to even get him to kneel."

Kris tilted his head, "Most intriguing."

The group continued down the hall to an unknown location, still following Kris.

"Indeed, Psyox, previously Spencer Cassidy, was a determined opponent. He insisted on my betrayal and continuously attacked, even though he knew I had the advantage with my experienced technology," Daedre added.

"Yeah and that Asian kid's tough too," Daniel agreed, "He's got a metal freakin' arm! Then again, he was no match for me." He blew onto his fingernails, brushing them off on his shoulder and smirking.

"Eleanor—er…Glow…-seems okay," Emma said uncertainly. A series of glares were sent in her direction. "Power wise, I mean," she quickly added, "She can fire beams of light from her hands, it could be consider a—um—a threat."

Kris nodded in approval, "We'll keep an eye on her."

"And then there's that screaming _brat_ ," Naia rolled her eyes as she walked, "She _could_ be a threat if she wasn't so worried about her team's safety."

"She _is_ tough," Daedre corrected. Naia gave a look of sarcastic disbelief.

"Man, who was that dude with the freaky extra arms?" Daniel inquired, waving his hands around, a bit like an octopus.

"Drew?" Emma raised an eyebrow.

"He calls himself…Stripes…I think?" Daniel nodded.

Emma nodded back, "Yeah, that's Drew."

Vandella bared her teeth, "He's a pain in my—"

"Vandella, please," Kris intervened, "You're only _9._ "

"Don't remind me," Vandella waved her hand dismissively.

"And then there was that knife chick," Rebecca growled.

Kris cinched his brow, turning to the magma-wielder, " _Knife chick?_ "

"Yes," Dragunov agreed, "Blonde hair. Purple eyes."

"She had knives," Naia added, waving her hands around a bit.

Daedre continued, "Oh and when Becca—"

"Aw, my very own nickname, thanks Sugar," Rebecca flashed a cheeky smile as Daedre flustered.

"When _Rebecca_ attacked the girl, her injuries miraculously healed," Daedre continued.

"Healed? What kind of injuries?" Kris demanded.

"A burned a hole through her stomach," Rebecca replied.

Kris narrowed his eyes, "And she _healed?_ "

"We all saw it," Emma said.

"Very interesting," Kris tapped his chin repeatedly.

The 19 year old halted abruptly at a large mahogany wood door.

Daniel looked up at the relatively large door, "What's this?"

"My bar," Kris replied casually, "I figured you could all use a drink, alcohol or not, your choice."

Naia grinned, Rebecca beamed, Vandella raised an eyebrow, Daedre gave a concerned but intrigued look, Dragunov cracked a smile, Daniel hopped once with excitement while Emma's eyes darkened.

"But…we're too young…" Emma reminded everyone quietly.

"Please, _Aeron_ insists," Kris smiled gleefully.

"Aeron?" said the Syndicate in unison.

"After you," Kris held open the door as the villains entered.

Inside a dance floor had been set up to the left, a bar to the right. Music played— _Irresistible_ by Fallout Boy if Rebecca heard correct—at a nice volume, not so loud that no one could be heard, but not so quiet that the music _couldn't_ be heard. Dance lights were the only source of light in the room, giving it a pleasurable darkness.

It was then that Rebecca spotted a woman sitting at the bar. She swirled her drink in her glass, lifting it and finishing it off in one swift gulp. She slammed the glass onto the counter, now empty, and spun around on her stool. Her sea glass green eyes scanned over the group.

"Shadow Syndicate," Kris spoke maturely for once, a smile playing on his lips, "This is Aeron, my _girlfriend_."

The woman's face soon housed a mischievous smile, "Oh darlings, we're going to have lots of fun."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

As unaware doctors swarmed the halls of the Playground, three figures huddled in the vent shafts. The first was tall, dark and responsible, the second tan, playful and beautiful and the third pale, small and agile.

"I'm freezing my butt off," the pale girl whined, hugging herself tightly.

"I'm surprised," the other girl, the tan figure, replied, "You're normally tougher than this."

"It's dark. I hate the dark," the pale girl snapped.

"We should be quieter if we don't want to be caught," the only male figure—the figure with the dark skin—recommended.

"Whatever," the pale skinned girl waved him off, "They can't hear us. They're to busy with the Challengers."

"Speaking of, you think Death is okay?" the tan girl asked worriedly, "She was fighting with them…"

"Yeah, she's fine," the other girl replied, "She's not one for injuries."

"We should make our move," the young man recommended.

The pale girl cocked an eyebrow, "What move? Death hasn't given us orders in quite a while."

"Yes she has," corrected the tan girl, "She ordered us to stay at this S.H.I.E.L.D. base and keep an eye on the Challengers."

The other two figures sighed and the pale girl spoke: "Yippee."

"Don't worry," the tan girl urged, "She'll give us new orders soon."

 **Ta-da! How'd I do? I think I did okay. SO there were quite a few new characters in this chapter! We have a total of 4 new characters, 3 allies and 1 villain. Are the allies good or bad? And who is Death? Let me know. :) See you guys next time! Stay awesome! Ciao!**

 **-AG**


	13. Brother

Chapter 10-

 **A quick announcement, I MISCOUNTED! Yes, I'm sorry! Okay there are** _ **6**_ **allies—not including Aeron—that you have yet to meet! One of which** _ **will be discovered in this chapter**_ **.**

 **A quick reminder: I do not own Marvel or it's contents. These OCs belong to various readers. I only own a couple characters (Tamashi, Jonathan ((whatever happened to Jonathan XD)) and a few others.)**

 **SHOUT OUT TO ELIANORA ANNORA! WHOOP! AND OFELIASEVIL! WHOOP! FOR BEING AMAZING! WHOOP! Not that you all aren't amazing. I love y'all.**

 **NEWS: I am planning a SEQUEL to this story and a PREQUEL has also been considered. ;)**

 **WARNING: (I'm required to put this): Mentions of blood and injuries.**

 **Let's get rolling.**

 **Shall we?**

 _Stefans Mansion_

 _Private Property—Countryside, New York_

Naia felt chills run up her spine as the woman— _Aeron_ was it?—stood up and took a few leisurely strolls forwards, her blood red heels clicking on the wood floor. Naia tensed, trying not to show her discomfort.

The woman had caramel colored skin and wavy dark brown hair that reached just a bit lower than her shoulders. She wore a revealing navy blue dress that wrapped around her form like a cobra, snug and deadly. She had sea glass green eyes and a relatively attractive body. She smiled mischievously with no teeth showing, and her eyes glimmered with something that could be mistaken for joy, but was easily the opposite.

She glanced around the group and briefly paused at the sight of Naia. She furrowed her brow and her lips pursed, but she quickly reverted to her casual smirk and relaxed features. She didn't look that tough. Sure she had an athletic build, but even Emma could take her on…Naia just couldn't figure it out, what was Aeron's catch?

 _I thought it best to introduce you to my abilities right away_.

The entire group flinched at the sound of Aeron's voice in their heads. They glanced at each other uncertainly.

"Through my abilities I can allow telepathic communication for your quieter assignments," Aeron offered, "As well as interrogate anyone in need of it."

"And why in the world would you help us?" Naia demanded, still trying to figure this woman out.

"Why?" Aeron smiled, sweeping her gaze over the Syndicate, "For the cause of course."

"The cause?" Daedre inquired.

"A cause hasn't been mentioned," Dragunov agreed.

"Oh! Kris, you haven't told the Darlings what they're fighting for?" Aeron asked in a savory tone.

Naia tried not to gag. This woman was treating them like _children_. She hated it. She was _not_ a child. She could take down this woman with a single blink. She would _not_ be treated as if she were a mere child!

"What the hell is the cause?" Naia hissed, venom lacing her tone.

Kris seemed slightly taken aback, but he continued in his relaxed manor, "The _cause_ is your respect."

Confused looks overtook the group.

"All we want is for you to be treated like humans, and given the respect you deserve. You are more powerful than mankind could ever think to imagine, we want you to be treated as is," Kris clasped his hands together.

There was a pause.

"Sounds like a good cause to me," Daniel said, crossing his arms.

"A good cause to _murder_ people?" Emma inquired uncertainly.

" _Problem_?" Rebecca demanded, glaring at Emma.

The girl's eyes widened, "No! I just—nothing—I—no problem," she stuttered. Rebecca nodded in approval.

"You all should learn to like Aeron, they'll be staying with us from this point on," Kris announced.

Naia frowned, proudly showing her discomfort.

"Wait, _they_?" Daedre intervened.

"Ah, yes, I did forget didn't I?" Kris laughed a bit to himself.

"You're so forgetful these days," Aeron teased.

Naia stared at them in disgust.

"Killer, please show yourself," Aeron said.

The Syndicate glanced around expectantly. They all tried not to flinch when a girl appeared at the bar. She wore a black cocktail dress and crossed her legs. Along with the dress she wore black flats with a small pink bow on each one. She sipped a gin and tonic, even though she was obviously underage, no older than 18.

"It's about time," _Killer_ sighed, "I was getting bored." She glanced at her painted pink nails.

"Well, do introduce yourselves, Syndicate," Kris pressed, giving a look that read 'come on, you're embarrassing me.'

"Quintain," Daniel stated, obviously not feeling comfortable with sharing his name.

"Vixen," Naia continued, relieved that she wasn't the only one that hadn't wanted to speak her real name.

"Scorch," Emma said quietly.

"Dragunov," Dragunov stated blatantly.

"Xenon," said Daedre, smiling as kindly as he could.

Rebecca crossed her arms, "Your Highness."

"Rebecca!" Kris scolded, as if he was a parent scolding a child.

"Magma Kiss," Rebecca grumbled, rolling her eyes like the annoyed teenager she was.

"Beam," Vandella said curtly.

"Alright, good," Kris smiled, "I suppose since you all want to go by your aliases, I should as well. I am Incubus."

Naia nodded, but she felt uneasy. This woman didn't settle with her. She knew that face. How? She had no idea. But something didn't feel right. Something was off. Something was going to happen, she could feel it.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

 **1 Week Later**

 _ **7AM**_

Drew sighed, staring up at his ceiling as dawn arrived. He sat up, turning off his alarm clock. He then stretched, releasing all of his extra tattooed limbs and stretching them out as well. Soon after that he yawned and got out of bed. Stumbling tiredly over to his dorm bathroom, he flicked on the light and looked in the mirror.

Exhausted dark lines under his eyes and tired eyes signaled his recent lack of sleep. He smiled a bit at himself in the mirror.

 _Come on Drew, you gotta do this. You're the only one fit enough to do this_ , Drew said internally to himself. He sighed externally and bent down, splashing some water on his face. The super powered teen quickly got dressed and exited his dorm. He shoved his hands into his pockets, too tired to decide on if he wanted to worry about his appearance or not. He ran a hand hand through his hair as he turned a corner.

Drew's eyes widened as he practically trampled a certain biochemist, who was roughly 2 inches shorter than him.

"Sorry Jemma," he apologized.

"No problem," Simmons flashed a smile. She looked as peppy as ever, a navy blouse and jeans coordinated her clothing. "Oh," she frowned, "Drew, you're getting enough sleep, right?"

Drew plastered a smile that, as hard as he tried, obviously read: 'hehe…yeah…no….' Simmons sighed. "Drew, you have to get the proper amount of sleep. You know that insomnia is one of the leading causes of death while driving?!"

"Yes Jemma, because I'll definitely be driving sometime soon," Drew said sarcastically, smiling, "I haven't even _seen_ a Driver's Ed building. Besides, Coulson hasn't been giving the Challengers any missions because of the injuries."

Simmons gave a sad look.

Drew set a hand on her shoulder, "I know you're worried, but I'm fine and they will be too. Promise."

"Oh alright, but at least pick up some coffee from the lounge," Simmons urged.

"I will," Drew agreed, sliding past the biochemist and continuing down the hall. He stopped for coffee and chatted with Bobbi while he was there. He swiftly exited however, realizing that the time was 8:01 AM.

Drew burst into the hospital room that he visited every day from 8AM to 9AM, careful not to spill the extra coffee that was in his right hand. He was greeted by a certain tall Irish-born 18 year old dressed in hospital garbs attempting—and not for the first time, either—to get out of bed and escape. Drew's leader's hair was messy and his sleeve tattoo of a dragon was now visible.

"Lachlan," Drew greeted, giving him a sideways look.

Lachlan pasted an innocent smile on his face, "Hi, Drew…hehe…I didn't think I'd bump into you on this _fine_ morning…" the Irishman beamed.

"Get back in bed," Drew sighed, ushering him back onto the hospital bed.

"Dude, I'm losing my mind," Lachlan whined, sitting back down and getting comfortable, "For my ownsake, I stay in here any longer I might start _digging_ my way out!"

"As if," Drew rolled his eyes, "Here, I brought you this." He stuck out his hand, coffee in place.

"Yes!" Lachlan cheered, then quieted, "The S.H.I.E.L.D. hospital staff refuse to let me have caffeine. Not that I don't appreciate what they do, but a little caffeine would do some good."

"Maybe I shouldn't be giving you that…" said Drew as he reconsidered.

Lachlan laughed, "You say it like you might get the coffee back."

"How're your injuries?" Drew inquired, changing the subject.

Lachlan had taken on Dragunov in the previous battle and suffered from a couple broken ribs and some bruises. Anguish had defended him from the brunt of it, and Lachlan was tough in general so after a mere day in the hospital he had been attempting escape. It had gotten to the point of Coulson considering assigning guards to his door. Lachlan was persistent, Drew would give him that.

"Ribs are still broken," Lachlan replied, prodding and poking at his side, "But I've had worse. What about you?"

"I got out with the scraps of the battle," Drew responded, he held up his hands. He carefully pulled up each sleeve revealing severe—but slowly healing—burn marks on his wrists.

Lachlan visibly resigned; "Does it…" he swallowed hard, trying not to show his disgust, "Does it hurt?"

"Nah, most of the skin is dead already," sighed Drew, rolling back down his sleeves and wincing a bit.

Lachlan nodded slowly, "Right…anyways…let's change the subject…"

"Yeah, sorry," Drew grinned. "Any strategies on how to take down Dragunov?"

Lachlan nodded, "Yeah. Freakin brute won't know what hit him. In fact, I've got a bit of a plan for each of us."

"Really?" perkier now, Drew looked up anxiously.

"Yup," agreed Lachlan, "Seeing that I'm not exactly short on time, I've spent quite a while figuring out what we could do to take down the Syndicate."

"For example?" Drew pressed.

" _Well_ , for example, that new guy… _Quintain?_...seemed pretty sure of himself. We exploit his weaknesses and I have a feeling he won't be _too_ hard to take down," Lachlan explained.

Drew raised his eyebrows, "Good point. If we can just figure out what each member of the Syndicate's fault is, we'll be all set."

"Right, well…"

And with that Drew and Lachlan swiftly entered into a thoughtful conversation on their enemies' weaknesses, not that there were very many.

 _ **9 o'clock AM**_

"Hey, sorry I'm late," Drew waved at Piper, who was sitting in her dorm room reading a magazine. "Here, I brought tea. Is that throat doing any better?"

Piper smiled kindly, feeling her neck with her fingers, "I wish." She rasped, her voice sounding like someone had thrown it through a paper shredder, attempted to tape it back together and then shredded it again.

"Woah, don't talk, not sounding better…at all," Drew urged, putting his hands up.

Piper rolled her eyes and pulled out a notepad. _Gee. Thanks for that_ , she scribbled, showing Drew afterwards.

"Well, pardon me Snow White," Drew continued jokingly, "You have the most beautiful voice in this entire facility. In fact, I bet _unicorns_ would die from the sheer loveliness of your words."

Piper laughed silently and took a sip of her tea, visibly relaxing as she swallowed.

"Beautiful voice for a good lookin' girl," Drew sighed.

Piper perked up, looking at him. _What?_ She mouthed.

"I finished my book last night," Drew announced, changing the subject. Piper seemed unsure but quickly gave an mock offended look, rolling up her magazine and smacking him on the head with it. "Sorry! I know I was supposed to wait till today, but I couldn't resist!"

Piper scribbled onto her notepad: _it's fine. I may have also finished._ She looked up guiltily.

"Ha! So it wasn't just me!" Drew pointed at Piper, laughing. "Anyways, we should probably figure out what to read next…"

This was what had been occurring for the past week. While the Challengers recovered, Drew had noticed that Piper was feeling a bit more depressed than her normal cheerful—sometimes stern—self. Seeing this, he had agreed on bringing her tea every day—to help with the recovery—and spend an hour reading with her, to keep her mind off of the injury. So far—keep in mind this was _one_ week—they had accomplished reading: _The Lord of the Rings_ (the full book) by J.R.R. Tolkien, the _Divergent_ series by Veronica Roth, _the Fault in Our Stars_ by John Green and _The Chronicles of Narnia_ by C.S. Lewis.

S.H.I.E.L.D. kindly provided them with whichever novels they chose, obviously feeling partially responsible for the injuries. They'd also provided a manuscript of every popular, available, novel.

"Hmm…" Drew muttered as he went down the script, " _Gone with the Wind?_ " Piper shook her head. " _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone?_ " Head shake. " _The Giver?_ " _Too short_ , she mouthed. Drew nodded, " _The Hunger Games?_ " Piper thought for a moment, and then nodded.

"Alright, it'll be in by tomorrow," Drew informed, "I guess we could re-read yesterday's book." He referred back to the hardcover book, picking up the two copies that were abandoned on Piper's desk and tossing one to her.

The next half an hour was spent re-reading. The two discussed the death of the main character, the villain's change of heart, the uncanny events that took place in the second half of the book; the usual topics that occurred in a book club. They continued discussing until Drew glanced up at the wall clock.

"I should get going," he sighed, standing up, "Tamashi doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Piper nodded in understanding and stood up. She smiled a little and kissed Drew's cheek briefly. When she backed up she looked up at Drew's nervous face and scribbled onto her notepad.

 _Thanks_ she wrote.

"It's nothing," Drew shrugged, scratching the back of his neck, "…I should really get going."

 _PS_ , she scribbled down, _I heard what you said before._

 **10AM**

"Hey dude," Drew greeted, looking at Tamashi awkwardly. The Asian was currently beating up the punching bag he had set up in the corner of his room. Tamashi didn't share a glance. Drew walked over and sat down on Tamashi's bed. "How's the PTSD?"

"I don't have PTSD," Tamashi replied. His English was more fluent now, but still a bit rugged.

" _Okay_ …" Drew frowned. He was definitely feeling uncomfortable. "What about the gash in your shoulder?"

Tamashi glanced at human shoulder, where Quintain had sliced with his katana in the recent fight. He continued sparring.

"Right…" sighed Drew, "Well…umm…you wanna spar?"

Tamashi ignored him, continuing to spar.

"You're really not making this easy," said Drew exasperatingly. Tamashi sliced a bit of the leather open with his metal fist, glaring at the punching bag as he attacked. Drew furrowed his eyebrows in a concerned manor, "I know what you said, but you really should go talk to May's…husband(?) again. He's an expert in—"

"I don't have PTSD!" Tamashi intervened.

"Fine, well at least go see Jemma so she can double check your injuries!" Drew urged, throwing his hands in the air.

Tamashi gave an annoyed look, "What inj—" he cut off, paused punching the punching bag—leaving it swinging—and coughed for a second before regaining his composure and spitting a relatively large amount of blood on his carpet. He then continued, as if nothing happened. "What injuries?"

Drew gave a look of disbelief when he noticed that this wasn't the first blood stain on the carpet, "That was convincing." He said sarcastically, "Seriously, go get a checkup."

"I am fine," Tamashi replied.

"Throwing up blood is not _fine!_ " Drew shouted, gaping at the Asian.

"It is just an after echo of the… _'glitch'_ as you called it," said the teleporter casually.

Drew frowned, "You've got to be kidding me."

"I honestly do not see the problem."

"YOU ARE COUGHING UP BLOOD!"

"And?"

"Hopeless. You're hopeless."

"I'm _injured_ ," Tamashi said in mock offense.

"Yeah! You are! That's the point!" retorted Drew. "You know what? Whatever. Did you think up any new strategies for taking down Naia—or Vixen as she calls herself?"

"I will kill her," Tamashi replied, narrowing his eyes and slamming the punching bag with a strong elbow.

Drew gave an uncertain look, "Let's…maybe…not…?" he said awkwardly.

Tamashi stopped punching and turned his attention to Drew, "I'm _going_ to kill her."

"I don't think S.H.I.E.L.D. will—"

"It's not a question. I'm not asking permission. I _will_ kill her!" Tamashi growled suddenly.

Drew put his hands up, "Okay! Okay."

Tamashi seemed to calm down a bit, "How's Piper and Lachlan?" he inquired casually.

"Piper's throat's still crap. Lachlan's still trying to escape the hospital."

"And the others?"

"They're healing, but their injuries are kind of severe. Speaking of, I have to go see Ellie…you wanna come with?"

"Pass."

Drew sighed for what seemed like the thousandth time. "Okay. I guess I'll see you later then."

 **11AM**

"Drew!" Eleanor cheered. She was currently laying across her bed the short way, her arms and feet dangling off of either side. "It's about time! Do you know how hard it is to wait for you?!"

Drew shrugged, "Sorry El."

"You sounds worried."

"I am, a little at least."

"Why?"

"Lachlan refuses to sit still, Tamashi's got a bad case of bloodlust and Piper…" the striped teen paused.

"Piper?" Eleanor pressed, raising her eyebrows and looking at Drew expectantly.

"Umm…Piper's… _confusing_ ," Drew sighed, sitting down on Eleanor's bed. Her leg had been wrapped tightly with gauze.

"Confusing?" Eleanor inquired, "How so?"

Drew suddenly felt awkward again. Not 'Lachlan just said a bad pick up line' awkward, or 'Tamashi's refusing to continue conversations' awkward. It was a weird… _awkward_. Why was he feeling like this? He didn't like it. He didn't remember ever feeling like _this_.

"So," he said quickly, "How's your leg feeling?"

Eleanor gave a curious look, "You didn't—"

"Better? Worse?" he interrupted.

Eleanor sighed and rolled over onto her back, lifting her head and glaring at her leg, "It's really annoying."

"Understandably," Drew agreed.

"I swear, if I ever see Becca again," Eleanor spat angrily.

"You'll attack her but won't kill her," said the multi-armed hero quickly.

"Yeah, yeah yeah," Eleanor rolled her eyes, "Why do you have to be so nice?"

"It's a gift and a curse," Drew replied.

"What? How is it a curse?" Eleanor said with one eyebrow cocked.

"Because, some people take advantage of my kindness," Drew responded.

"Hmm, I guess that makes sense…" said Eleanor reluctantly. "Oh! Like the Force!"

"What?" Drew furrowed her eyebrows.

"You _know_ , from Star Wars? The Force can be good or bad. Like Yoda said, _'A Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side._ '" Eleanor recited.

Drew still didn't really understand. Sure, he'd heard about Star Wars, but he'd never actually gotten to watch the movies, not before Hydra had kidnapped him. "Oh."

"You _have_ seen Star Wars…right?" Eleanor asked uncertainly.

"Er…no…" Drew shrugged.

"What?!"

"I guess I never got around to it."

"Never got around to STAR WARS?!"

"Yeah…I guess not…"

"I'm 13 and I've seen every single movie! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

"I'm sorry?"

"You should be."

"So…Star Wars…" Drew tried his best not to sound confused.

"Yeah! Star Wars!" Eleanor replied, crossing her arms and looking at the older teen like an angry parent. "We're watching that."

"Fine. But we should at least wait until you recover," Drew offered.

"Ugh…fine…" sighed Eleanor.

 **NOON**

At that point Drew spent an hour running around getting lunch to everyone, which was a task in its own. Every single day for the past week, Drew had brought Lachlan lunch only to find him trying to escape through the window, or halfway down the hall—dodging doctors and nurses. At that point Drew was forced to catch him, and had chased him down the hall before tackling him to the floor. The Irish-born struggled, and escaped many times before being caught by a couple of S.H.I.E.L.D. guards down the hall and getting dragged back to his room.

Next had come Piper, who ate rather willingly. The problem was that the freakin lunch ladies couldn't get Piper's order right. For some unusual reason, when Drew ordered a sandwich and some strawberries for Piper, they always arrived with a dish of carrots. Why? Drew didn't have a clue. All he knew was that Piper despised carrots and that it was quite the annoyance when they appeared on her plate every single day.

Afterward he revisited Tamashi and gave the Asian his lunch, something that is a lot harder than it would seem. Tamashi's injuries complicated eating due to the whole 'coughing up blood' thing. That made it difficult to swallow without staining the rest of his food red. And yet, as many times as Drew had tried, the ninja refused to go and get a checkup. Again, Drew tended to ask himself, why? And again, he responded, he had no idea. For some unpractical reason, Tamashi hadn't liked doctors.

Drew jogged all the way back down to the opposite end of the corridor, where Eleanor's room was. Eleanor was the easiest to care for. She had simple needs and not many complaints. She was good company, like Piper, humorous, like Lachlan, but serious when needed—much like Tamashi. This provided a good break from the previous lunch deliveries. Another point to the bright side: Drew didn't have to worry about Eleanor eating properly. Unlike Lachlan, who sported a sweet-tooth bigger than Quintain's ego, Eleanor wasn't fond of soda and/or French fries. Which made it easy to keep her healthy.

 **1PM**

Drew finally finished, coming to stop at the final door, a lunch tray in hand. He entered the lounge area thoughtfully.

"It's about time! I'm starving!" Spencer whined. The boy was sitting the long way on the lounge's sofa, his head propped up on one of the arm rests.

"Oh come on, you're lucky I even bring you lunch," Drew rolled his eyes and set down the platter of food. Spencer quickly finished it off. Drew reached up into the metal cabinets placed over the counter. He pulled out a roll of bandages and walked over to Spencer.

Spencer sat up. "I don't see the big deal. Jemma refuses to let me leave. It's just a gunshot wound!" He said with an annoyed tone.

"She's just worried. I think it's smart of her to keep you here and double check for infection," Drew persuaded.

"Whatever, I just wanna leave," Spencer huffed.

"I understand," Drew agreed, "As a friend I say: escape. Right now. As a teammate I say: unless you want to get your ass served on a silver platter, I suggest you just chill for now."

"Silver platter? Nah, Naia doesn't like me _that_ much. She'd serve it up in a can." Spencer waved the other boy off. Drew laughed. There was a pause as Drew unrolled the bandages and began removing the blood-stained gauze from Spencer's bicep, where the gunshot wound was.

"Hey, uh, Stripes?" Spencer inquired, using Drew's alias, which Spencer treated as a nickname. He briefly cringed as Drew skimmed his injury. "Why're you doing all of this?"

"All of what?" Drew asked honestly, frowning in confusion.

Spencer began counting off, "Well, first off you're taking care of our entertainingly immature leader. Secondly, you're taking care of your girlfriend's sore thro—"

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Shut up, I'm trying to be nice. Thirdly, you're still trying to convince T to go see Jemma, even though he obviously doesn't want to. Not to mention that you've been babysitting El—not that she needs it—and checking in on me every day," Spencer continued. "On top of that you're giving Coulson a debrief, training, sparring, and keeping up your own ridiculously good health."

"I'm not seeing the problem," Drew said earnestly.

" _Why_ are you doing it?" Spencer prodded.

"You should know," Drew replied, "You guys are all I've got, and to be honest…you're not much. I'll do what it takes to keep you guys alive."

"Eh…" Spencer gave a disgusted look, "What the hell, man? You're so nice it's almost sickening."

Drew grinned as he finished up bandaging Spencer's arm, "Come on, Spence, I'm just doing what anyone with common sense would do."

"Yeah, I guess, but you're taking this whole 'taking care of your family' thing to a whole other level," Spencer responded.

Drew shrugged, "Again, I'm just doing what I think is right."

"Geesh. Get out of here before your kindness kills me," Spencer teased.

"What about you?" Drew inquired.

Spencer raised an eyebrow, "Me? I'm getting some sleep. Not much else to do when your confined to your bedroom and the lounge."

Drew nodded in approval and stood up, exiting the lounge.

 **2PM – 10PM**

The rest of Drew's day was just as jam-packed as Spencer had described it to be. At 2 he met up with Annaleise and Lana to discuss the recent events:

The hero, biochemist and underage NYPD officer gazed down at the training course, where the mysterious Pat Coren was currently shaking her rear end at a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. officers.

" _Hit me with your best shot~"_ Pat sing-songed, coincidentally quoting famous singer _Pat Benatar._ " _Why don't you hit me with your best shot~?"_ The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were getting aggravated, firing multiple shots from their pistols. Each shot hit a different place on Pat's body: legs, arms, torso, etc. Each time a bullet embedded itself in her skin she plucked it out as if it was a mere splinter.

"Well…" Lana said uncertainly, "She's definitely got confidence…" said the biochemist quietly.

"Agreed," Annaleise nodded, crossing her arms, "This is one of those things that I'd prefer to tell the NYPD about, in case she becomes a threat."

"And yet, you know you can't, because if you do the whole 'secret base' thing'll be ruined," Drew replied.

"Yeah, I know," Annaleise sighed, "I said I'd _prefer_ to, not that I will."

"She should definitely be monitored…" Lana whispered. The biochemist was quiet. Although she had the appearance of a strong preteen: purple wavy hair, a strong jaw line, tanned skin, slight muscle on her otherwise slim figure, about the same height as Drew, she was a bit under confident and tended to speak in a quieter anxious tone.

"We'll keep an eye on her," Drew said confidently, "Especially if she's joining the team."

Soon after that he revisited Lachlan to give him his pain medication, which obviously dulled the pain, although Drew didn't really believe he needed it. That didn't take long, normally a bit over half an hour. He then retired to the lounge—Spencer had retreated back to his dorm—and enjoyed his first (and only) meal of the day; dinner.

Afterwards came one of the trickier tasks of the day; training with Agent May.

"Ow!" Drew hissed as May chopped into his side.

"I'll admit; you're improving," May said calmly as she ducked under one of his arms.

"Really? 'Cause it doesn't feel like it. It kinda feels like I'm—ow!—getting worse…" panted Drew. Sweat lined his forehead and his muscles felt like someone had hit each and every one with a different truck, but that's what he got for signing up for training with May.

"How is the team doing?" May inquired. Drew didn't blame May for being concerned, but he was getting annoyed with the question.

"Fine," he responded, finally getting in a single punch to May's arm. "Lachlan's restless. Piper's finally relaxing. I'm a bit worried about Tamashi's anger towards Naia. Eleanor's…as curious as ever. Spencer's also getting a bit jittery. Pat's as unpredictable as ever. Lana's still quiet and Annaleise is still loyal."

"You could have just said everything's the same," May recommended.

Drew laughed, "Yeah, that might have been—" he dodged under a kick "—easier."

May's training was closely followed by Coulson's debrief. The debrief consisted of all of the popular questions: "How is everyone?" "How are you feeling?" "Is everyone up to date with training?" "Is everyone's injuries healing properly?" and so on.

A spar with Skye was what Drew called fun at the time. He had taken down Skye twice in the past week, both times were swiftly followed by her sweep kicking him, but that's not the point. His one hour of free time was spent on Hunter after he agreed to have a beer—or soda in Drew's case—with the Merc.

9PM was used to double check all of his comrades. 10PM was the time he was forced to turn in for the night at. This time was given by Jemma, who insisted that he get enough sleep.

While this schedule wasn't always the most enjoyable, this _was_ what was most important. And it was definitely what was needed. So Drew put up with it.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

"This guy has issues," the pale girl sighed.

"Issues? He's just taking care of his friends," said the tan girl.

"Do either of you ever stop talking?" inquired the dark skinned boy.

"Shut up Strategist," replied the pale girl.

The dark boy—Strategist—rolled his eyes, although it wasn't seen by either of the girls seeing as the three of them were tucked away in a vent system.

"Come on Phantom, be nice," pressed the tan girl.

"You should talk, Knight, this is the first time I haven't seen you disagreeing with whatever I say," replied the pale girl, Phantom.

"It's Death we're talking about. I think she at least deserves our cooperation after what she did for us," said the tan girl, nicknamed Knight.

"Let's just get this report over with," Strategist sighed, beginning to creep through the vents. Phantom and Knight reluctantly trailed his feet.

 **Okay, so for now at least, let's just consider this the calm before the storm. The storm? You ask. Well, yeah, the storm. A storm is** _ **definitely**_ **brewing. The next chapter will definitely have a bit more humor and lots more action. I know this chapter was slow but I felt like Drew didn't really have that much character development.**

 **Anyways, what's this? Were Drew and Piper flirting?! Are Spencer, Tamashi and Drew really close enough to consider each other brothers? Does Naia know Aeron?! WILL LACHLAN EVER ESCAPE THE HOSPITAL?! All will be revealed eventually.**

 **Question of the Day (except I don't do it daily XD): What do you think of Drew?**

 **Update soon!**

 **I stayed up till almost midnight to finish this so I hope it's not too bad. (it also explains any spelling errors. XD)**

 **G'night.**

 **-AG**


	14. Shot

Chapter 11-

 **So, let's build up some excitement, shall we?**

 **The next few chapters (including this one) will dive back into the action. Not to mention that MAJOR changes will be made and humor will take part. I hope I can make you guys laugh, at least a little. One more note, this chapter will skip ahead another week. Okay, think that's it. Short author's note this time. XD Enjoy.**

 **Ps. This chapter refers back to events that occurred in the episode TRACKS in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in case you're wondering.**

 **Go vote on the poll on my profile please!**

 **Shall we?**

 _Stefan's Mansion_

 _Private Property – Countryside, New York_

 _ **1 Week Later**_

"This is the only way that anyone will ever know your name!" Kris said enthusiastically.

"I agree with Kris," Aeron smiled with what some might believe is kindness, "You Darlings are never going to make it in the big league if you don't step up your game."

"Yeah, but an assassination?" Emma said anxiously.

"Assassinations are easy to perform," Dragunov urged, obviously attempting to make her feel better. It didn't work however, as Emma paled.

"It'll definitely get our name around," Naia said thoughtfully.

"Exactly!" Kris agreed happily, "Do this and _everyone_ will fear you!"

Daniel looked at Naia and Naia returned the uncertain look. Daedre glanced around the room and Rebecca raised an eyebrow as she decided on if she should join or not.

"Well…we do want to get our name out there…" Rebecca sighed.

"Alright, then it's settled," Aeron announced.

"Let's go," Vandella ordered, leading the way out of the mansion.

"Remember," Kris called as they left, "No mercy."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

Hunter walked sternly down the hall.

"We just got word that the Syndicate might be attempting to assassinate Rand," Hunter said to the Asian woman who walked next to him.

"Daniel Rand? Why?" May inquired.

"Hell if I know," Hunter replied.

"But Coulson's sending the Challengers?" May asked. Hunter nodded. "And he's certain they've recovered?"

"Nah, but I'm sure they can handle it," Hunter shrugged as he entered the training room.

Once inside he and May paused, taking in the picture:

Eleanor was battling Pat, who wasn't using her knives. The two were locked in close combat, swinging punches and throwing kicks. Eleanor continuously ducked under Pat's attacks, but—much to May's approval—she wasn't running away. The burn on her leg was now only represented by a series of scars. Pat's injuries were obviously long gone and the girl was in as good of a mood as ever, shouting things like: "Ai yi yi!" and "Whoop!" as she jumped around Eleanor's attacks. Eleanor fired a beam of light at Pat and the beam cut cleanly through Pat's side. Pat laughed as it healed and continued fighting.

Drew and Spencer were facing off. Drew was attacking from multiple directions by using his extra arms while Spencer blocked each one with a small force field. Much like Eleanor's injuries, Spencer's gunshot wound was faded and only a slight bit red. The two boys continued leaping around the room, slicing at each other and avoiding the other battles that were occurring throughout the room.

The next battle consisted of Piper, Tamashi and Lachlan in a battle of every man for themselves. Piper let out an earsplitting shriek—thankfully the room was sound proof and Coulson wasn't hearing any of this—aimed at Tamashi, who teleported out of the way only to almost run into Lachlan. Lachlan had his Anguish suit on and Piper's screams didn't seem to be affecting him as he walked up to Piper and brought her to the ground with a sweep kick. Tamashi teleported over and brought his foot down on Lachlan's head. Lachlan snapped around and those two began fighting as Piper got up and jumped in.

"OI!" Hunter called through the room.

The heroes slowed to a stop and turned to the Brit.

"We've got another assignment for you," May informed loudly.

Cheers and sounds of relief developed quickly.

"Finally!" Drew shouted.

"Yes!" Lachlan said excitedly.

"It's about time!" Spencer said exasperatingly.

"Yay!" Eleanor cheered simply.

"What's the assignment?" Piper inquired.

"We think the Syndicate might be planning to assassinate Daniel Rand at a party he's hosting in his building tonight," Hunter replied.

"Daniel Rand? As in Daniel Rand, _the_ Iron Fist?" Eleanor said in disbelief.

"The one and only," Hunter agreed.

"He's _so_ hot!" Piper and Eleanor said simultaneously.

The boys of the group stared at them.

"What? We can't be girls for a _second_?" Piper growled as Eleanor glared daggers.

The boys retreated, subtly stepping away from the girls.

"Right…" Hunter broke the silence after a moment, "Coulson's sending you lot in to keep an eye on Rand."

"Wait, but if the Syndicate's going they're bound to hear that we're there," Lachlan pointed out.

"That's why Coulson has assigned you each a fake ID. This is an undercover mission." May responded. The teams' hearts sank.

"Undercover?" Tamashi inquired.

"As in, staying in character? With fake names?" Drew asked excitedly.

"Yeah," nodded Hunter.

"Aw…Daniel Rand's never gonna know my name…" Eleanor sighed in a disappointed tone.

"Meet in the lab for your new IDs, provided outfits and information on the mission," ordered May.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Lab – The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

Fitz took a few steps around the room, handing out faux licenses, a cream folder, and identification card to each member.

"I managed to keep you all at basically the same age," Fitz informed as he handed the cards out, "You're all some sort of protégé or entrepreneur. The folder has the information on your alternate egos, it should help with staying in character."

Piper raised an eyebrow as Fitz handed her her information, "Have you been on one of these missions before?"

Fitz smiled, obviously recalling a fond memory, "Oh yeah. We had to go undercover on a train a while back."

"Any advice?" Drew asked.

"Don't break your cover," Fitz replied.

"Shawn Redmond," Lachlan read suddenly.

"What?" Piper raised an eyebrow.

"That's my new name: Shawn Redmond," said Lachlan casually as he read from the manila folder. "I'm a…fashion entrepreneur." He looked up at Fitz with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't look at me," Fitz said defensively, "Simmons created your alternate egos."

"Evangeline Anderson," read Piper, "Multi-millionaire. Not bad."

"What the—?" Drew read with a confused tone, "My name is _Brian Bryan_!"

Spencer, Lachlan and Tamashi burst out laughing. Piper quickly elbowed Tamashi and Lachlan, who were on either side of her, while Eleanor stepped on Spencer's foot.

"Wait…it says I'm a translator for _Ayaka Shimizu…_ " Drew paused, looking back up, "Who's that?"

"That's me!" Eleanor cheered, reading her folder, "I'm Japanese royalty!"

"Wait," Tamashi interrupted, "How does that make sense?"

"Hehe," Eleanor giggled, "In your face. I'm a freakin' princess."

Tamashi face palmed.

Spencer let out a ridiculous hearty laugh that sounded a bit like a sea lion choking, he earned looks from the rest of his team. Spencer began speaking in a low, obviously fake voice, "Lenny Gonzales. Founder and operator of Gonzales Industries."

Piper cracked a smile while Lachlan gave a look of horror.

"It says I'm David Smith, inheritor of Leonard Smith—my apparent father—'s stock," said Tamashi as he read through the folder.

"Hold up!" Pat shouted, "I'm married to _him_?!"

"What?!" Tamashi sputtered, his face going red.

"Emily freakin' Smith! Inheritor of Leonard Smith's stock! _Married to David Smith!?_ " Pat shouted.

"I am 16!" Tamashi shouted at Simmons, who was currently standing in the doorway, obviously regretting walking in.

"Well," Simmons smiled, "I figured since your _father_ was so strict you would want to go against his rules and marry her anyways! Then the two of you could plan out your wedding in Central Park where Emily has always wanted to go!"

Tamashi glared while Pat gave a look that read 'you seriously planned this all out?'

"She gets a little carried away," said Coulson as he entered the lab. Simmons quickly gave each Challenger an outfit to wear. By the time they were done each Challenger wore an outfit that matched their character. Eleanor wore a kimono and sported geisha make-up, much to her disagreement. Spencer was dressed in a classy black tuxedo along with Drew, Lachlan and Tamashi. Piper wore a pristine cream dress encrusted with diamonds that clashed against Pat who was dressed up in a silken pink empire dress.

To top it all off, Spencer was equipped with a faux mustache and Tamashi and Pat gained wedding rings. Piper was given a butt load of jewelry and the entire team was given communication devices disguised as a variety of objects: bow ties, regular ties, bracelets, purses ,etc. Overall, the Challengers were ready…as ready as they could be, anyways.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Rand Corps Building – New York City_

The Rand Inc building was a massive skyscraper. Marble steps led up to the front doors where a series of guards stood, collecting IDs and checking VIP lists. Piper sighed as she exited the limousine. _Alright, here it goes,_ she thought silently. She thought about her character and quickly got into it.

Piper strutted up to the nearest guard, "Evangeline Anderson," she drawled.

The guard checked down his list, "Can I see some ID please?" She held her breath and pulled out her fake ID, handing it to the man.

"You're 23?" the man raised an eyebrow, looking Piper up and down, "You don't look older than 15," the man said skeptically.

Piper briefly froze, but quickly recovered. "Aw, thank you Monsieur," she purred, "You're not so bad yourself."

The man flushed. He cleared his throat and tugged at his collar, "Thank you Madame."

Piper sent a flirty look before passing the gullible security agent. She entered the lobby and soon after that entered the ballroom, where the party took place. Behind her she heard Lachlan attempting—and failing—to get his character right.

"Name please?" said a guard.

"Shawn Redmond," Lachlan said nervously. The man, different than the guard that Piper had faced, gave Lachlan a look of disbelief. Piper motioned for Lachlan to continue, giving him a confident look.

"Oh yes," said Lachlan, quickly regaining his sense of confidence, "Haven't you heard of me?" The man shook his head and Lachlan gave a dramatic gasp. "Oh, Darling, this cannot be! I am _the_ Shawn Redmond! I just released a new line!" shouted Lachlan exasperatingly. The guard rolled his eyes. "I am _offended_ at your _mockery_ of my company!"

The guard began making a move to call for backup. At that moment Spencer made the strategic move to casually step forwards. Lachlan quickly caught the cue.

"There! There's proof!" Lachlan said in a girlish voice, "This man, what's your name Sir?"

"Lenny Gonzales," said Spencer with a deep voice.

"Mr. Gonzales is wearing a piece from my new clothing line—er— _Puis-je Utiliser La Salle De Bain!"_ urged Lachlan.

"Oh, yes," Spencer agreed, "Comfortable ties indeed."

The guard, obviously just not wanting to deal with the two boys allowed them both to pass.

Once Lachlan was cleared he stepped past the guard, "Toodles." He said as he walked away.

Piper turned as the Irish walked over. "Toodles?"

"I'm trying to stay in character," Lachlan replied.

Piper shook her head.

"What the hell did you say back there?" Spencer inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh that? I asked if I could use the bathroom," Lachlan shrugged casually, " I guess French class actually paid off."

"Split up," Piper commanded, "If anyone sees the Syndicate, report in."

Lachlan and Spencer nodded, splitting back off in different directions. Piper watched them go, practically screaming when she rammed into someone. She looked up at the man she had run into with wide eyes, mouth slightly opened in surprise.

She tried to spit out something, a 'sorry' or a 'my bad' but the man simply looked down at her and laughed.

"Mrs. Anderson, yes?" the man inquired.

"Y—you've heard of me?" Piper asked with a raised eyebrow. These names were S.H.I.E.L.D.'s creation, how in the world could this guy know her?

"Why of course, all of the guests heard of your arrival," responded the man. He paused, grinning at her confusion, "Kris Stefans. It's a pleasure." He said, holding out his hand. She took it and shook his hand respectfully.

He smiled at his accepted offer. Kris then seemed to tune into the classical music that was playing in the hall, "Hmm, I do love a good melody. Care to share this dance with me?"

Piper bit her lip. _Don't break your cover_ , repeated Fitz in her head. She reluctantly nodded and then sighed as she was pulled towards the dance floor.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

"Well someone's getting into character," sighed Drew as he glanced over at the ballroom dance floor. Piper was dancing with a tall man with wavy brunette hair, pale olivey Caucasian skin and a smirk. The worst part? Piper was smiling back. She was just staying in character, he had assured himself of that. Why else would she be dancing with him? Drew glared at the man and his ridiculously perfect hair, freaking flawless skin and his stupid smirk.

Eleanor glanced between Drew and the dancing duo. She coughed awkwardly, "Jealous." She coughed.

"What?" Drew demanded, snapping his gaze down to the thirteen year old.

"What? Nothing," replied Eleanor, beginning to walk away.

"What? Wait! What did you say?!" he demanded, trying to act casual as he chased after her.

The two halted in the midst of the crowd.

"I didn't say anything," Eleanor persuaded, keeping her tone low in order to keep up her cover, "I coughed."

"As if," Drew snapped, "You don't just 'cough'!"

Eleanor laughed, "Yes you do! People cough, Drew, it's not unusual. Besides I—oh my god!"

"What?" Drew demanded.

"Oh my god! Oh my god!" Eleanor squealed.

"Be quiet!" Drew warned, "You're gonna blow your cover." He flashed around a worried glance, but all of the guests seemed pretty dedicated to the extremely loud classical music. "What's the problem, anyways?"

"Oh nothing, just the _hottest person in the world!"_ Eleanor cheered excitedly.

"Black Widow is _here_?!" Drew asked urgently, looking around in a frantic manor.

" _Daniel Rand!_ " squeaked Eleanor.

"Oh my—you've got to be kidding me!" Drew grumbled, face palming. "And here I was, thinking you were talking about Black Widow."

"Come on, we should go talk to him!" Eleanor urged.

Drew raised an eyebrow, "We? You mean _me_. You're Japanese, remember?"

"Oh no…" Eleanor said sadly.

"Yea, sorry El," Drew said as he patted Eleanor's shoulder thoughtfully.

The moment was broken as someone roughly bumped into Drew's shoulder. He turned to see a shorter girl with blonde curly hair pulled back in a bun. The girl was walking away from him, not bothering to give an apology. She wore a shorter gown that was darkly colored and clashed against her pale skin. Drew tried to ignore her rude move. She continued pushing through the crowd until she came to a duo that consisted of a tall African-American man in a tux and a slightly taller curly haired brunette girl in a blue dress.

"Come on," said Drew, "Let's go keep an eye on Rand."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

Lachlan walked up and sat at the bar, next to Spencer, who was already there.

"Hey dude," Lachlan greeted.

"Sup," Spencer replied, looking bored out of his mind.

"Honestly?" said Lachlan, "I'm pretty bored."

"Same," sighed his friend.

"Where is everyone?" Lachlan inquired, turning around and scanning his eyes over the crowd.

Without looking, Spencer recited: "Drew's with Eleanor over by Rand, Piper's dancing with some stranger, I'm right next to you and I'm almost positive Tamashi and Pat are either glaring at each other or holding a contest on 'who can be more sarcastic'."

Lachlan gave an impressed look, "Yeah. That makes sense."

"A contest on who can be more sarcastic? Seriously?" said an unimpressed Pat as she walked up and sat on Spencer's other side.

"What? It's possible," muttered Spencer as Tamashi shoved his way through the crowd and over to the bar.

"Ooh," Pat whistled, "How'd Piper score that guy?"

Spencer shrugged carelessly.

"Don't know," Lachlan responded, "We should keep an eye on him."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

Kris had to contain his shock at how easy it was to gain this girl's trust. All it had taken was a little flirting, some polite actions and a single offer to dance. And now, here he was, dancing with one of the toughest Challengers. That was the only reason he _was_ dancing with her. According to his Syndicate, Piper had put up a fight. The entire team was a threat, but Kris didn't feel like dancing with any of the male members and the youngest member was half his height, which would make for an awkward dance.

And then there was the knife girl, who he had yet to lay eyes upon. He knew she was somewhere in the vicinity because the Challengers were here. The question was _where?_ Kris casually continued dancing with Piper, sweeping her around in an elegant dance, but he secretively scanned the crowd for anyone who—There.

A girl with blonde hair, shaved off on one side, but brought up in a high bun on her head was sitting at the bar. And—what's this? With her were an Asian boy, a bronze haired boy and an Irish teen. _These must be the others_ , he thought silently, _what was it? Anguish, Psyox and…_ he realized that the Syndicate hadn't actually told him the Asian's name. Kris made a note to ask whenever he got the chance.

"You okay?" Piper asked him cautiously.

"Of course," he replied smoothly, realizing his mistake in getting lost in thought. "And you mademoiselle?"

"Sure," Piper shrugged as she danced, "I have a couple friends here that I wanted to speak to."

Kris nodded but noticed that Piper was carefully avoiding eye contact, her eyes dancing around his. He felt a small panic build up. Did she know? Had someone found out he was involved? Was she just distracting so the authorities could come? He couldn't lose his control. Not now. Not after all he had— _get a hold of yourself_. He interrupted silently.

He paused as her eyes flashed across his. "Piper." He addressed firmly, she froze, still avoiding eye contact.

"H—how do you know my…?" she trailed, still not moving from shock.

"It doesn't matter," he said calmly but forcefully. "What matters is that by the end of the night Rand will be dead and _my_ Syndicate will be to thank for it."

"Your syndicate?" her eyes widened and she snapped her glance up to his. Mistake.

"Oh yes," he said casually, letting his powers take over. "But you don't need to worry about that. In fact, don't worry about any of it. Forget we ever had this conversation."

Piper paused, keeping his gaze for one last unbreakable second before she blinked a few times and spoke, "I—I really need to go talk to the other guests…"

"Of course," he agreed, smirking mischievously. He bowed, taking her hand and kissing it lightly before he let it go and watched her scamper off towards the bar. Kris turned only to run into someone else. "Oh, pardon me." he apologized with fake guilt.

"Nah, sorry, my fault," replied the tall brown haired teen he had run into. "I saw you dancing with…what was her name? Miss. Anderson, right?" he inquired. So this was Lachlan, or Anguish, the leader of those petty little Avenger-wannabes.

"Yes," Kris replied smoothly, exiting the ballroom floor with Lachlan at his side, "She's quite the dancer."

"Oh yeah, definitely a keeper," Lachlan agreed wisely, even laughing a bit, keeping up his act quite well. If Kris hadn't known better, he wouldn't even have _considered_ this to be an act.

"Apologies, I didn't catch your name," Kris informed as they walked.

"Shawn Redmond," Lachlan replied a bit too quickly.

Kris pretended not to notice, "I see and you're into fashion, corr—"

Kris was cut off by 3 consecutive gunshots firing through the air. Silence filled the hall as the orchestra trailed off. A single female shriek cut through the air and gasps, screams and cries quickly filled up the silence. Kris tried not to show his enjoyment at the chaos it was creating. Lachlan seemed surprised, but prepared at the same time.

"You should go!" Lachlan urged, completely unaware that his enemy was standing in front of him.

"What about you?!" Kris demanded with fake worry.

"I'll be fine! Go! Get to safety!" ordered Lachlan.

Kris nodded quickly, plastering fear on his face until he turned from the 18 year old and let a smirk form as he swiftly cut through the crowd. It was so easy to trick these Challengers. In fact, they weren't much of a challenge at all.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

Piper's eyes widened at the sound of three gunshots. She had just reached the bar—where Spencer, Tamashi and Pat were and where Drew and Eleanor had recently joined, also where Lachlan had just left—when it happened, and chaos had erupted. She'd grabbed Drew's arm instinctively and clung to it as she was almost swept away by the crowd of scared people.

"Move, Challengers!" Lachlan shouted from somewhere in the rustling crowd of people.

"You heard him!" Spencer yelled, beginning to shove through the people. Eleanor quickly followed, letting him clear a path for her. It didn't take long before Piper caught a look of Dragunov on the balcony of the giant ballroom, reloading his sniper rifle.

Piper did the same with Drew while Pat followed behind Tamashi. Piper quickly split off from the group—who were looking for the rest of the Syndicate—and ran at Rand who was laying on the floor while people swarmed away from the mad party. It amazing Piper how unthoughtful people could be while scared, no one was trying to see if he was okay or checking his injuries. Apparently Rand didn't believe in body guards either because of his whole 'Iron Fist' thing, because none of any sort where anywhere in sight.

Piper dropped to her knees next to the older man. "Mr. Rand?!" she demanded over the commotion. She quickly looked over the damage. One bullet had landed in Rand's side, the other in his right shoulder and the final in his right bicep. _Unusual_ , thought Piper, _Dragunov doesn't miss._ It just didn't happen. That means he wasn't trying to kill Rand…or he was letting someone else do it…

"Mr. Rand?!" Piper demanded again.

"Oh…hey…" Rand replied in a dazed manor, attempting to sit up but quickly stopping himself. His hand lit up with a golden chi energy. "Evan—" he let out a sharp breath, "Evangeline Anderson, right?"

"Siren," Piper replied.

"Right, right," Rand nodded, screwing his eyes shut. "Huh. That's weird. My chi doesn't seem to be working quite fast enough."

"What?!" Piper shouted, looking him over frantically, "What do you mean?!"

"Well," Rand replied, blinking a few times, and staring up at the ceiling, "I'm sort of bleeding out. Never happened before."

Piper gaped at his casualness.

"Move it Chickadee," a new voice commanded. Piper looked up to see Rebecca standing over her and Rand. "I'm gonna roast him." Piper kept her position, glaring up at Rebecca. She opened her mouth to scream. "Fine. I'll roast you both!" Rebecca said almost gleefully, before Piper could scream. Piper let out a shriek, sending Rebecca back as lava shot out of her hands and sizzled into the floor.

"Wait!" interrupted Daedre as he ran over, directly before Rebecca could launch another attack. "Killing her was not part of our orders!"

"So?!" Rebecca snapped, "I don't give a crap what _Incubus_ says! I do what I want!" Daedre stepped in front of Piper, much to her surprise. "Last chance Smurf! Move outa the way!" Rebecca growled, referring to his blue tone.

Daedre remained positioned, a stern look on his face.

"Fine then, I'll char you both!" she hissed.

No one had time to move before molten lava was sent flying at Daedre's face.

 **Cliffhangers are back baby! WHOOP! XD**

 **WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN?! AHH! What do** _ **you**_ **think is gonna happen?! Let me know via review! I love hearing from you guys! Also, check out that poll on my profile and tell me what you guys want to see happen!**

 **:)**

 **See everyone next time!**

 **-AG**


	15. Sacrifice Pt 1

Chapter 12-

 **Please read all of this! I know it's long, lots of announcements! Sorry!**

 **Okay! Hey guys! So, I have a small announcement, the next three chapters will be labeled a bit differently than my usual One Word Titles. The next three chapters will be labeled:** _ **Sacrifice Part 1**_ **,** _ **Sacrifice Part 2**_ **, and** _ **Sacrifice Part 3.**_ **I don't** _ **think**_ **they'll be as long as the other chapters. Maybe only half the length, or ¾ the length. Hopefully that means updated in half the time! ;) Who knows? They might be long. I dunno. We'll see.**

 **I'm really thankful for all of the positive feedback I've been getting and that everyone is getting so excited about it! I always take requests, via PM or Review. Let me know what you want to see happen and if I can fit it in I WILL. It might be in this story, the sequel or the prequel. Send in whatever you've got! :)**

 **ALSO: I thought I should warn everyone that—if you didn't already notice—there will be underage drinking in this story. Not tons of it, just small little scenes. So…you know, just thought I should alert you that I am indeed aware of the laws, but it's not like they're** _ **over**_ **drinking. So…yup.**

 **ALSO 2: Sorry for the day-late update. I updated my other story The Other Glade instead yesterday. :)**

 **I have ANOTHER new pole out on your favorite character! :D Go check it out! :D**

 **WARNING: Chapter contains minor graphic descriptions**

 **Shall We?**

 _Stefans Mansion_

 _Private Property – Countryside, New York_

Faith Anna-Marie Lakewood, better known as Killer, sat carelessly on the bar located in Kris Stefans' mansion. She sighed, not exactly enjoying this as much as if she was slicing some guy's heart open. She let out another grumble of boredom.

"Come now, Faith! Do behave yourself!" Aeron scolded from where she was pouring herself another drink behind the bar.

"But it's so boring…" Faith replied with an annoyed tone, revealing herself after previously being invisible.

"I don't care. He's our ally and—"

"Little more than an ally…" Faith sing-songed.

"And we'll be polite guests. Please get down off the bar," said Aeron sternly, beginning to motion her off of the countertop.

Faith let out another long "ugh" before sliding off the bar and instead plopping down on one of the bar stools. She laid her head down on the table, pressing her cheek on the cold surface. Why did Aeron's boyfriend have to be so… _boring?_ He was supposed to be some all-powerful villain and…yeah, no. Didn't see that happening.

Aeron watched Faith for a minute before saying, "Stay here. I'll be upstairs picking out a new dress for later on." _Later on? It's nighttime! What could possibly be going on later-_ Faith stopped her thoughts in disgust. "Please don't break anything."

"I love how you expect that I'll break something," Faith said, smirking.

Aeron sighed, " _That_ , right there, is why."

"What?" Faith asked innocently, "My smile? Can't a girl be happy?"

"Just…don't break anything," said Aeron with a stern look. She turned, her heels clicking on the floor as she left. Faith dropped her smile, narrowing her eyes and looking over the room. She wouldn't break anything. Not unless it was trying to break her. As long as that didn't happen, she'd be fine.

She lifted her head as Kris strolled into the room, sending him a look with her wide eyes that she knew sent chills down the older teen's spine, even if he wouldn't admit it.

"Killer," Kris spoke, visibly regretting when his voice cracked a bit. Faith smirked. He cleared his throat. "Where is Aeron?"

"Eh. Dunno. Probably up in her bedroom," lied Faith, "How was the party?" she inquired, reaching over the bar and pouring him a drink. Kris walked over and sat down next to her, resting his elbows on the table.

"Fine I suppose," Kris sighed, thankfully taking a sip of the drink she had handed him, "The _Challengers_ are not much of a _challenge_ as they seemed to be earlier."

"Shocking," replied Faith sarcastically.

"Indeed," Kris agreed, grimacing as he tasted the beverage and casually lowering it from his lips, obviously not liking the taste. "I've already found each of their weaknesses."

"Yea? And how'd you do that?" Faith questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"A series of experiments," Kris responded slickly, "The eldest—Lachlan, I believe?—is extraordinarily strong, but he focuses too hard on the missions, unable to comprehend when there are flaws. The other boy…Drew, keeps his emotions under wraps while on the field, but as soon as I toyed with the Screaming Girl his jealousy showed. That brings us to the Screaming Girl herself. What can I say about her? She not only danced with me just to keep her cover, but _trusted_ me and answered practically every question I asked without thinking twice."

"Sounds like a nice group of people. What about the other four?" asked Faith with a curious look.

Kris chuckled to himself, the quiet chuckles quickly escalating into full-out laughing, "I figured them out long ago."

"Couldn't have been to 'long ago' seeing as you're one year older than me," Faith brought up, "If it was so easy, then what're their weaknesses?"

Kris sighed, "The Force Field Wielder, Spencer or Psyox, relies heavily on his sarcastic remarks. He uses them as cover, throwing threats, remarks and taunts at the enemy. Shut down the remarks and he'll be momentarily taken off guard. The Ninja—what was his name again?"

"You are definitely asking the wrong person," replied Faith.

"Well, his anger controls him. He can easily be extinguished if we get him angry enough," continued Kris, "The youngest of the team is very connected to her teammates. She's strong, yes, but she doesn't possess the will to withstand some of these battles. Her weakness is something she can't help: she's a child. The 'Knife Girl', as the syndicate called her, is our only unknown variable. She's fast on her feet, amazing with any sharp object, and—among other things—she also seems to lack the ability to die."

Faith gave him a gave him a look that could be compared to something a kid would give a parent if they were told that 'their bunny hadn't died, it'd flied away with roller-skates'.

"She can't _die_?" she inquired.

"It doesn't appear so," Kris replied.

"Huh. But you said you found out a way to take her down?" Faith pointed out.

"Oh of course. You have to think simply to discover her weakened point," nodded Kris, concentrating deeply on the topic. He turned, leaving his state of trance, and meeting Faith's eyes. "We're going to cut off her head." Faith's eyebrows shot up. "We're going to cut her head off, gut her, and hang her skin on my wall."

Faith paused, eyes wide. They narrowed, darkening in the process.

"Sounds like fun."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Rand Corps Building – New York City_

Daedre was startled when the fiery hot magma was launched at his face. He instinctively brought his arms up to shield his face, closing his eyes and preparing for the impact. While his suit could probably handle the damage, his currently unshielded face—he had been given a mask to wear that altered his identity and made him look human (in order to blend in at the party), but disabled him from wearing his helmet, much to his disagreement—could not.

When know lava arrived he carefully uncovered his face. The lava was slowly oozing down an invisible wall, where it had smacked into like a fly on a windshield.

"What the hell?!" Rebecca growled, " _Spencer!_ " she hissed.

Daedre blinked in surprise, reluctantly bringing his arms down. He turned his head to see Spencer off to his right, arm raised, casting the force field that previously saved his life. Daedre was speechless. It wasn't a cowardly speechless, because he certainly wasn't cowardly. And it definitely wasn't a fearful speechless, because he had overcome the fear of death in his military training back on his planet Fe'Tug. It was a confused speechless.

Firstly, why would Rebecca betray him? He had shown nothing but loyalty to her. She could have killed him. If that blast had made it a few inches farther he wouldn't be here. Bringing him to his next point, why did Spencer—of all people—save him? _Him,_ the one who had reluctantly fought Spencer and resulted in Spencer getting blasted by Vandella, not to mention the mental exhaustion he had caused. Yes, it was Spencer that had chosen to fight, but Daedre had continued it.

Rebecca glared through the invisible wall, "You little piece of—"

She didn't get to finish as the Challengers threw some kind of plan into action. Drew tackled Rebecca from the side, pinning her down with his arms. Up above, on the balcony, Lachlan sprinted full force at Dragunov, his tux crinkling with the movements. Lachlan wrapped his strong arms around Dragunov's torso, propelling the both of them off of the balcony.

There was a small mid-air fight as the two scrambled through the 10 ft drop. Dragunov threw an armored punch and suddenly Lachlan was on the bottom of the two, although he didn't seem to be too heavily affected by the punch. Lachlan's Anguish suit emerged and hissed, while Lachlan swung a kick at Dragunov. The two landed with the loud crunch of tile breaking, and Dragunov had ended up on the bottom. They continued to fight.

Behind him, smaller battles ensued. Eleanor went for Emma again, but with a newer determination behind her eyes. Drew was still wrestling Rebecca. Piper was running at Vandella, while the Knife Girl jumped at Daniel, shrieking 'Ai yi yi!' an unusual, unfamiliar term in Daedre's ears. Naia began throwing telepathic attacks at anything that moved, Spencer shoved her backwards with a force field, dropping the one that had previously been protecting Daedre.

Daedre quickly regained his composure, spinning his heel and running from the force field that had just saved his life. He ran over to Daniel Rand, who was bleeding out on the floor, Piper at his side.

"I can help," Daedre offered, frowning at Piper's look of distrust. "I had to receive Medical Teachings during my Military Training. Besides, Fe'Tug's medical research is highly more advanced."

Piper knit her brow as Daedre began inspecting the fallen man. Rand was gritting his teeth, eyes closed and shoving downwards on his worst wound, a bullet lodged in his upper torso. Rand was just lucky that Dragunov had thrown the shot. Dragunov had been instructed by Naia, their team leader, to only handicap Rand and then start taking down the Challengers. But of course, they hadn't escalated that quickly into the plan and therefore all it had done was cost them the mission.

Daedre went over the basics in his head. _Vitals_ , he quickly took the pulse; rapid but weak. Not good, he had lost a lot of blood. He was sweating profusely and seemed to drift in and out of consciousness, definitely wouldn't mark that on the list of positives. He carefully tilted Rand, scanning over the man's back. Good, he quickly spotted the bullet's exit wound.

Daedre reached back, clicking a small clip on the backside of his belt. A thick heavy piece of cloth, sewn on his home planet and made to stop profuse amounts of bleeding, emerged. He quickly pressed it to the largest wound. Unfortunately, his suit was only equipped with one, not helping their current situation.

"Rip off the edge of your dress," ordered Daedre, turning to Piper who was currently guarding Daedre and Rand.

Piper sputtered, " _Excuse_ me?"

Daedre didn't waste any more time, he quickly grabbed the edge of Piper's dress, tearing it upwards until it reached her knees and then ripping it all the way around, converting the dress into a knee-length dress and giving Daedre a satisfying amount of fabric. He unhappily found a series of diamonds embedded in some pieces of the fabric and ripped them off, carelessly chucking them to the side.

"What the—you can't just do that!" Piper scolded, focusing her attention on guarding but also glaring at him.

"Exactly why not?" Daedre inquired, biting a piece of the fabric and using one of his hands to rip off another piece. He flipped Rand back over, pressing the fabric to the exit wound. He tore a long thin strip, tying the two bandages on under Rand's suit jacket but over his shirt in a makeshift bandage. He then used both of his hands, a bandage each, to stop the bleeding in the other two gunshot wounds.

"Because they're diamonds!" Piper growled with a fury that belonged to a Skivocian, one of the most deadly creatures on Fe'Tug.

Daedre didn't see the problem. They were just jewels, not any form of currency, or importance. Not on his planet at least. Why did things on Earth have to be so unusual?

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

Naia snarled, flipping her hair out of her face and spinning around, taking in the déjà vu-esque battle that was currently occurring. While the fight was similar, it was nowhere near the same. The Challengers were more together and strategized. Just as the thought appeared, she turned to see the Asian kid leap off the balcony and land on Emma, who had been blasted by Eleanor into that specific spot. Tamashi quickly wrapped a blindfold and secured it just out of reach before teleporting away with a 'bamf'.

Emma shouted, clawing at the blindfold but Eleanor blasted her backwards, not as afraid as the previous battle. Naia turned again, looking over at Rand, Piper and Daedre. _The traitor_ , she hissed. She noticed Rebecca struggling with Drew. She prepared to launch another psychic attack, picturing digging her nails into Drew's mind and scratching his soul.

Drew cried out, releasing his grip and allowing Rebecca to shove him backwards. Naia focused her attention back on the billionaire, the songbird and the alien. The ninja had joined them, helping Daedre lift Rand up, arms slung over the other two teens' shoulders, while Piper watched their backs.

 _Vandella_ , Naia called out mentally. The 9 year old, who was currently trying to defend Emma, snapped her head over towards Naia. _Get Siren_. She ordered forcefully. Vandella nodded in agreement, burning a laser through Emma's blindfold before charging at Piper.

Piper's eyes widened as the young girl fired a blast into her stomach, sending her flying into a pillar. Piper shrieked loudly, shattering the glasses that had been abandoned on the tables and bar.

Spencer noticed the commotion and shielded Daedre, Rand and Tamashi, guarding them with an invisible shield while also holding up a shield against Dragunov, who he and Lachlan were attacking.

Naia then focused her attention on the trio of escaping young men. She glared at them, raising her hand and then focusing on the tiled white cement ceiling above them. Internally, she snapped the supports. _Break!_ She screamed at them. _Break!_

It didn't take long before the supports crackled and a combination of stone and plaster was sent flying downwards. Something slammed, full speed, into her side.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _5 Minutes Earlier_

Lachlan sighed exasperatingly as he dodged another one of Dragunov's attacks. But the attacks were weakened. He punched Dragunov square in the jaw with his Anguish-enhanced fist, and then grabbed his shoulder, slamming another punch into the brute's stomach. Dragunov grunted and stumbled backwards.

"This is for pounding me into the ground, bastard!" Lachlan snapped, kicking Dragunov across the face. He turned at the sound of crackling.

Naia was behind him, a couple dozen feet away, arm raised. Her eyes glowed with an eerie reddish pink glow, lighting up along with an unusual aura surrounding her hand.

"Hey, you got this?" Lachlan inquired, turning to Spencer.

"Yeah, got it," Spencer nodded. Sweat beading the younger teen's forehead and his hands were shaking. He was currently shielding Daedre, Tamashi and Rand with a rather large force field, and guarding himself from Dragunov with two separate smaller shields.

Lachlan reluctantly nodded, and turned his heel, running towards Naia. The crackling sound had emerged from the ceiling above the trio of heroes. Cracks ran through the tile, sending out dust and shards of installation. Out of the corner of his eye, Lachlan spotted Drew sprinting full speed at Naia, extra arms extended outwards at her.

"Psyox!" Lachlan shouted. Spencer flashes his hand in Lachlan's direction, opening a gap in the force field protecting Rand, Daedre and Tamashi. Lachlan rammed, full force, into someone. He didn't know who it was, seeing as his body had automatically closed his eyes on impact, but he figured he could save whoever it was from the collapsed ceiling using his Anguish suit.

Pain shuddered his bones as something—expectantly the ceiling—slammed into his back, sending him downwards. As predicted, Anguish took most of the damage.

 _What the hell, Butler?!_ Hissed Lachlan internally.

 _Shut up._ Lachlan replied, a term he used often with the symbiote.

 _I see how it is, let the suit take the damage!_ Growled Anguish.

Lachlan could feel that he was now exposed on his back, Anguish ripped off of him in those spots. In the end he had landed a slight bit to the right of the person he had tackled. Both of them were pinned, chest and below, in rock and plaster. He turned. Tamashi was unconscious next to him, blood trailing down his forehead, face up on the ground, unlike Lachlan who was face down.

"Aw crap…" Lachlan cursed, attempting to lift his arms only to realize that both had been pinned down by rock. He turned his head, struggling to lift it up in his current position, and saw Daedre standing and staring at him in surprise, Rand hanging with his arm slung over Daedre's shoulders.

"Move!" Lachlan shouted angrily. No way he had done what he did just for Rand to get killed. Daedre blinked briefly, beginning to trot backwards away from them, then spinning around and running at the doors.

Lachlan considered he and Tamashi's positioning. That rock fall should've crushed all four of them, but instead it only pinned Lachlan and Tamashi. A sudden dawn of realization fell over him, he turned his head to the right, where he had a perfect view of the battle.

Drew was rolling around with Naia, both trying to get the upper hand. Naia was tossing out psychic attacks while Drew retorted with his sharp extra arms slicing and cutting at her. Naia grabbed Drew by the hair, yanking his head backwards and dragging her nails across one side of his face, leaving angry red marks. Drew gained the upper hand, pinning Naia to the ground using his extra arms, jamming them through the edges of her clothing into the ground.

That was when Naia formed a bright glowing energy spear with her right hand and stabbed it into Drew, and Lachlan let out a scream of anger.

 **And so ends Sacrifice Part 1. :)**

 **Please let me know what you thought of this chapter!**

 **It ended at a total of 2,922 words, without the ANs which is about half the size of a normal chapter. If we're lucky another chapter will be posted today or tomorrow, but I'm not sure. Depends. So! Let me know what you thought!**

 **ALSO: I have a question. So the prequel is going to be separate from this story. I was wondering if you guys wanted Part 2, or the next section of this story with the same characters, to be part of this story or separate? Let me know please.**

 **Till next time!**

 **-AG**


	16. Sacrifice Pt 2

Chapter 13-

 **Dun dun duhhh! Chapter 13! The unlucky (but surprisingly lucky in real life XD) number! What will happen in the terrible Chapter 13? Well, let's find out, shall we?**

 _Rand Corps Building – New York City_

Eleanor was frozen with shock.

She knew that she was crying, the warm salty tears trailing down her cheeks, but she was too numb to feel any emotion. Everything had slowed down to a slug-like pace, taking its time as it crawled past the Challengers. And then everything sped up, going at an impossible speed.

Piper cried out, shattering every window in sight and raining glass onto everyone. A shard nicked Eleanor's left ear and her hands, which were raised as she was about to attack Emma. Lachlan and Tamashi had been pinned, although Tamashi was clinging to consciousness, both were struggling to free themselves. Spencer was close to Eleanor, a couple feet away.

Eleanor shrieked in pain, tears trailing down her cheeks. She blasted a blinding white beam at Emma, sending her backwards up onto the balcony railing and then tumbling downwards into the tile floor. Spencer shouted as well, more anger than sadness, and a sickening crunch sounded as Spencer's fist connected with Dragunov's jaw. He had previously dropped the force field he had been holding, concentration having been broken.

The bronze haired boy then tapped his communicator, shakily speaking. Eleanor could barely hear his cracking worried voice as he spoke a series of scrambled words, "C—Coulson—no—we—he—Drew—I can't—we need—I don't…" he trailed.

Pat had been battling Quintain. She grabbed his shoulders, scowling at the smirk that painted his face, and kneed him hard where the sun doesn't shine. Quintain's eyebrows shot upwards and he collapsed to his knees in pain. Pat kicked him across the head.

Drew was still stunned, crimson blood now dripping out of his torso and down onto Naia's stomach. Naia was glaring at Drew, but she seemed somewhat uncertain. She tilted her spear slightly and then extinguished it all together, the weapon obviously drained energy. Drew let out a series of choked breaths, falling next to her onto his back. His breaths were frantic and hitched, he coughed, blood trailing out of the corners of his lips.

"Drew!" Eleanor screamed. Her body finally moved like she told it, moving at full speed as she hurriedly ran at Drew, tripping over her own feet. The air next to her shimmered as she ran, Spencer had put up a force field between the villains and the heroes. The villains occupied one half of the room, near the main entrance, and the heroes occupied the other half, near the emergency exit.

The sounds around Eleanor were chaotic as she collapsed next to Drew. Piper was sobbing, unable to scream as she scrambled over to Drew. Pat was screaming her head off at Naia, ordering Spencer to drop the force field so she could 'rip that dark haired chick's head off with her teeth'. Lachlan was shouting at Drew, demanding if he was okay. Tamashi was roaring at Naia's head.

Eleanor blocked it all out. She pressed her hands onto Drew's wound, blood quickly stained her palms red.

"Drew?" She asked between sobs. Drew's face was contorted in pain, his eyes were slits. "Drew?" She asked shakily. His eyelids fluttered. "Drew, you can't go to sleep. Not yet." She cried. She felt something slip under her hands and stop the bleeding. Something invisible. A force field, she realized.

Looking up to Spencer, who was standing over Drew and Spencer protectively, she saw the bronze haired boy was breathing in an exhausted manor, pale and shaky as he held up the massive wall and the invisible bandage.

"Drew," Eleanor asked, taking his hand in her smaller ones, "Please. Come on," she pressed, "Don't close your eyes. You have to keep your eyes open. Piper and Daedre are trying to get Lachlan and Tamashi free. We're gonna get out of here." She nodded, and quickly realized she was trying to convince herself, not Drew.

Drew attempted a tired nod, his head lazily bobbing, but his blinking had slowed and his eyelids drooped. "Drew please," Eleanor continued, "Coulson's coming and—and we're gonna—we're gonna get you out of here." She choked, tears hitching her voice. "Please Drew, please," she lowered her head onto his chest, squeezing his hand as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

Eleanor's voice was a small whispery sob as she spoke, pressing her cheek on chest, blood tainting her face. "We haven't watched Star Wars yet…"

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

Lachlan was shouting, meaner than he had intended, commanding Piper to unbury him, yelling at Daedre to unpin him from under these stones. Daedre was using a shoulder cannon that had emerged from his armor to carve away at the rocks. Rand had awoken, weakened but able to stand. He was standing, leaning on a pillar, but he had insisted that they save their friends.

"Come on!" Tamashi growled beside him, shoving at the rocks and cutting his palms.

Piper wiped her eyes for the umpteenth time, digging furiously at the stones. Her hands were bleeding, but she didn't stop. Suddenly the rocks jolted, the heaviest stone hovered into the air. Seemingly balancing on an invisible platform. Lachlan and Piper turned their heads to see Spencer, eyes closed, lip bleeding from biting it so hard, arms shaking as he held up the three force fields he was supporting.

Lachlan looked from Spencer to Piper, to Daedre, to Rand, and finally to Eleanor and Drew. Eleanor was sobbing over Drew, who's chest was faintly rising and falling. Lachlan turned his head again, this time looking at Tamashi. Lachlan looked into Tamashi's eyes and the two shared an understanding. Tamashi gave a brief nod, quitting his effort in unburying himself.

Lachlan looked back at Piper, "Piper." He said quietly. She continued digging, sobbing furiously. "Piper."

"No," Piper shook her head.

"Piper, go," Lachlan urged.

"No, no way," Piper shook her head more furiously, tears trailing her cheeks.

"Piper," Lachlan met her eyes, "Go."

"Drew needs you," Tamashi agreed.

Piper let out a weak cry of sadness before getting up and running over to Drew, beginning to lift him with Pat.

"Hey," Lachlan said sternly, snapping his gaze to the blue skinned alien that stood above him. Daedre gave him a questioning look. "Listen up you bastard. If you're really on our side then you're gonna protect them. You got that?" Daedre nodded. "I swear on my life, if you betray them I'll slit your throat." Daedre nodded slower this time before turning and picking up Rand with ease, carrying him fireman's style.

Lachlan watched with a stern expression, brow knit and lips tight, as Piper and Pat carried Drew out of the room, leading the way as the Syndicate watched from the other side of Spencer's clear wall. Spencer followed with Eleanor, the smaller girl supporting the exhausted teen who stumbled along. Spencer shot Lachlan and Tamashi a saddened thankful look, concentrating on keeping up the invisible bandage and wall, the rocks had long since dropped. Eleanor was crying but Spencer wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close and comforting her as they walked. Daedre and Rand took up the rear, Daedre keeping a watchful look as they exited.

Lachlan and Tamashi glared at the Syndicate until they saw the air shimmer, flicker and then go blank, the force field having been dropped. The Shadow Syndicate had regained their composure. They had formed someone what an angle. Naia on the point, Daniel and Rebecca on either side of her, a bit further back and Dragunov, Vandella and Emma behind them. They came to a stop in front of the two trapped heroes. Naia did not look happy. Blood—Drew's blood—spattered her face, like some kind of crazy war paint.

Dragunov's arms were crossed and he was glaring at Lachlan, burning holes into the symbiote-holder's brain. Rebecca was looking over Tamashi and Lachlan's current position and a smile slowly drew over her features. Emma was trying to look tough but she bounced her weight from one foot to the other, unsure if she should be happy or not. Vandella was giving both boys a look that held way too much violence for a 9 year old. Lachlan kept a straight face as Dragunov stepped forwards, beginning to unbury them.

"We may not have gotten Rand, but Incubus will be happy that got these two," Naia stated, glaring down at them as Lachlan wondered: _who was Incubus?_

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

Eleanor stumbled through the long emergency exit corridor. It was a cement hall, no decorations or anything of such. But somehow Eleanor knew it wouldn't be much help in an actual emergency, seeing as it was a series of winding corridors and closed doors. Rand was no help with directions, his chi seemed to have started healing his wounds but it was sapping his energy, throwing him into a half-conscious stumble.

Spencer was in a similar state, most of his weight now residing on Eleanor's shoulders where Spencer's arm had been thrown across. He was exhausted, his eyes barely open and his movements working as if he was the dead walking. Currently keeping Drew's wound as closed as he could while also helping Pat and Piper hold up Drew by propping him up a bit with a couple force fields, Spencer's condition was understandable, but Eleanor was worried that he was overexerting himself.

"We shouldn't of left them behind," Piper said, arguing with herself as she had been for the entire walk, her eyes scanning over the tunnels.

"It was their choice," argued Pat. "They made the right decision. Drew and Rand need medical. They put the mission before themselves, like any good agents."

"They weren't just _any good agents!_ " Piper snapped, wiping her eyes furiously as she walked swiftly.

"Doesn't matter. They made their decision. Now focus on the task at hand. Get us out of here," Pat retorted.

"We shouldn't have left them," Pat shook her head, closing her eyes briefly as she walked and then opening them again. "We shouldn't have left them. They're gonna die and it's our fault."

"Shut up and walk," Pat growled. "If we don't get out of here, their sacrifice will be for nothing!"

"This is impossible!" Piper whined, stopping in her tracks as they reached what seemed like the 800th break in the path as it splitting off into two directions.

"What kind of emergency exit is this?!" Pat hissed, "It's an emergency! HELLO?! Freakin Rand Corps. Freakin Rand. Freakin emergency exit."

"It's not wise to curse upon a company when its founder is standing among you," Daedre chimed.

"Shut up Mystique-Man. I'm blaming you for a lot of this, so you better keep your trap shut or I'll knock your blue teeth in." Pat threatened as the group picked up their pace.

Daedre raised his eyebrows, "My teeth aren't—"

If looks could kill.

Eleanor couldn't remember ever seeing Pat this serious. Not in conversations, nor training, not even in battle. Drew's injuries must have affected her more than Eleanor had first suspected. Drew would— _will_ laugh when he recovers. Eleanor's heart skipped a beat at the realization that she had almost treated Drew as deceased. She turned her attention back to Spencer, whose steps had become even more labored than earlier.

"Are you alright?" Eleanor asked quietly, looking up at her older brother-like figure.

"Mhm. Fine. Why?" Spencer inquired, raising an eyebrow and giving her an exhausted look.

"You kinda sorta look like death itself, but you know, I'm sure it's nothing." Eleanor replied. Pat flashed them a glance. Eleanor ignored it. Spencer cringed briefly, as if he had seen something he wanted to un-see. He paused briefly in his steps and then continued limping along, his eyelids just about ready to close.

Eleanor caught a glimpse of Drew's injury and saw blood was slowly inching its way out from under Spencer's bandage. They didn't have much time.

 **So, less suspense in this chapter but eh. So, the ending of Sacrifice Part 2 has come! I'm going to try to update tomorrow but I'm going to my cousins so we'll see. If not, the next day I'll update. :)**

 **So, a few notes.**

 **Firstly, this chapter ended at 1,982 words (a heck of a lot shorter than every other chapter) and I'm sorry for that. Sacrifice Part 3 will be up soon and hopefully it'll be longer, seeing as it's a conclusive chapter (for the Sacrifice pieces, not the entire story).**

 **After the Sacrifice Section the chapters will get longer and more intense, but this is a big moment in the story so I wanted to break it up a little instead of just shoving it all into one chapter.**

 **Let me know what you thought! I love hearing from everyone!**

 **-Sincerely, AsgardianGrizzly**


	17. Sacrifice Pt 3

Chapter 14-

 **Alrighty! *This week on AG's** _ **Children of Hydra**_ *** After a long enduring battle between the Challengers and the Syndicate, Lachlan and Tamashi have been captured and are being transported to a mysterious** _ **Incubus**_ **. Drew is on the edge of life. Spencer is clinging to consciousness. Piper is on the verge of panic. Pat is about to lose it. Daedre's trying not to get on anyone's nerves. Rand is of no help whatsoever. And poor Eleanor is just trying to keep everyone calm!**

 **Ps. Sorry I have this weird glitch where my computer is bolding random letters. Please ignore them. Sorry for the inconveniance. :P**

 **Let's check in with everyone, shall we?**

 _Stefans Mansion_

 _Private Property – Stefans Mansion_

Lachlan tr **i** ed not to cringe as someone shoved him to his knees without warning. He could feel that blood was **s** eeping through Anguish. It felt weird, Anguish being weakened. It was a sensation that barely occurred and when it did he felt at half the strength and on top of that there was—

 _You suck, Butler! You're so annoying. No one likes you. This is entirely your fault. You're terrible at being a leader. If it wasn't for you we wouldn't even be here. Maybe, if we plead, they'll just take the Asian Stir Fry and leave us alone._

That. Anguish didn't seem to be in the best mood since **h** e had been ripped to shreds in the battle and now hung from Lachlan's frame like some sort of weird ripped scuba diving suit.

 _Shut up_ , Lachlan replied. He used that term often with Anguish.

 _No you shut up!_ Anguish snapped.

 _Really? Best you got?_ Lachlan inquired. His hands had been tied on the way to…wherever he was…and he had been blindfolded as well, obviously not through his own will, he had struggled but that had earned him a hard punch in the gut from either Dragunov or Quintain, he couldn't tell with the stupid cloth over his eyes.

"What do you mean he's gone?"

Lachlan now knew 3 things about the Syndicate's leader. A, he was a younger guy (couldn't be much older than Lachlan himself). B, he had a heck of a lot of control over the Syndicate. C, he was _very_ unhappy that Daedre was gone.

"He just left?" the man, supposedly the mysterious 'Incubus', qu **e** stioned with the slightest bit of awe in his voice.

"Yea. Picked up his stuff and left with the Happy Campers," replied Quintain.

"Why?" Incubus demanded.

"Because I wanted to **r** oast Chickadee," Rebecca quipped.

There was a long pause before Incubus sighed.

"Then I suppose we're going to have to go get him," sighed Incubus **e** ventually. "Dragunov, Quintain, would you two mind taking our guests to their chambers?"

Lachlan assumed that the two of them nodded bec **a** use he didn't hear a word before someone was grabbing under his arms and dragging him away. Obviously he started struggling, but the stones that had fallen on him earlier weren't doing him much good. They had cut his sides and it hurt to move too much.

Suddenly the floor beneath him gave out and he landed a bit lower. Another tug, a bit lower. Another tug, another jolt, a bit lower. Stairs, **L** achlan figured. Seeing as he didn't hear any other struggling, he predicted Tamashi was most likely either unconscious, being taken somewhere else or… **L** achlan stopped thinking about it.

Someone, whoever was dragging him, so either Quintain or Dragunov, set him down on his knees and wrapped something heavier over the rope binding on his wrists. He heard a ' _shink'_ and quickly realized that it was chain link. When the chain finally stopped, he felt something pulling at his wrists.

In less than a minute he was standing, the pulling becoming stronger, two minutes and his hands were above his head, five minutes later and he was strung up by his wrists, feet no longer touching the ground, like a cow in a butcher's shop. The blindfold was ripped from Lachlan's face with now delicacy what so ever and he winced as the rough fabric scraped across his skin.

Lachlan took a moment to take in his surroundings.

 _Where the hell are we?_ Inquired Anguish with a dash of curiosity.

 _You ask as if you think I'd know_ , replied Lachlan.

He had been brought into some sort of cement cell. It was the cliché kind, cement blocks forming the walls, no lights whatsoever, a security camera placed in one of the corners, steel doors with metal bar windows. The Irish-born turned his head, struggling to see around his own arm, and found that Tamashi had been placed in the same room. The Asian was hanging by just his one human arm because, as Lachlan realized, his metal arm had been removed at some point, leaving just the bolts and scars that made up Tamashi's right shoulder.

"T," Lachlan hissed when he noticed that his friend was still unconscious. "T." he snapped again. "Tam—" Lachlan was cut off by a sharp pain sizzling through his body. He let out a gasp, that swiftl **y** turned into a full out shout through gritted teeth. Anguish was screaming inside of him, a terrible hideous noise that reminded Lachlan of a cacophony of bad singers screaming at once. Anguish had a unique voice that was a million shriek-ish voices all at once that created a singular voice.

 _What_ —Lachlan began asking Anguish, but another sharp buzz of pain cut him off. At the buzzing, vibrating feeling he was receiving, Lachlan swiftly resolved that he was being electrocuted. He felt Anguish retreating, and tried not to choke at the ice cold feeling he received when the symbiote vanquished back to wherever it hid when not in use. Lachlan suddenly felt bare. He knew he was wearing a tux underneath Anguish, but it felt unusual not wearing the symbiote even though he was in danger.

5 long minutes after Anguish disappeared, the electricity halted, leaving the Challengers' leader panting for air and twitching from the remaining electrical buzz. Lachlan waited for something to happen. He waited for someone to enter the room, for someone to speak, for Tamashi to awaken, for someone to explain what was going to happen to the two boys. But nothing happened.

So Lachlan hung and watched his blood leak out onto the cement floor.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _S.H.I.E.L.D. Jet 021 – Midflight_

They were saved.

That's what she kept telling herself.

They were saved.

Everything was fine.

Nobody was going to die.

They were safe now.

Ever since the day that she had been brought to Omega Point she had been on edge. She remembered that day like it was sculpted out of **g** lass, crystal clear. The men who had taken her had said everything was fine. Then they had killed Mom and Dad. And they still urged that _'everything was okay'_ and _'she was safe now.'_ But how could she be safe when they had just murdered her parents? The next 2 years of her life were all out torture.

Until S.H.I.E.L.D. found her, and then she had said to herself _'you're safe, Eleanor. It'll be okay. You can relax._ ' But even that was a lie. Because now Drew was bleeding and Spencer was exhausted, and Piper was crying, and Pat was glowering and Daedre was staring miserably at the blood on his hands. It was Rand's blood, but blo **o** d in general just wasn't a happy feeling at the moment, not that it ever was.

They were situated in a S.H.I.E.L.D. jet. While it couldn't be considered cozy, and/or relaxing, it felt a lot safer than back at Ra **n** d Corps, and Eleanor would've taken it any day over the Hydra cell she had spent 2 years of her life in.

The chairs they were seated in lined **e** ither side of the exiting ramp on the jet, with a large metal harness to keep everyone in place. Drew and Rand had been laid on medical cots near the cockpit, currently being taken care of by a shorter younger female agent, who was doing her best to keep both of them alive.

Piper was at Drew's side, refusing a seat, and trying to stay out of the younger agent's way. Daedre had taken an awkward seat across from Spencer and Eleanor. Spencer was on Eleanor's right, he seemed to be in that state that you reach right before you fall asleep, where everything just feels like it's floating, and you aren't really aware of your surroundings. He had been more reluctant to the harness than Eleanor; obviously the metal chair and harness had brought back bad memories.

Eleanor had taken it willingly. She hadn't wanted to cause any trouble. She had wanted to focus on the fact that everything was going to be okay, even though there was that knawing feeling in her gut that everything _wasn't_. Those words haunted her insides, rattling off her bones and swimming in her blood. It bothered Eleanor. She just wanted everyone to be happy. She wanted to make people happy. She wanted to—

"It'll be okay."

Eleanor froze at those words. She turned to their owner: a taller agent with long curly brown hair pulled back into a pony tail, her face hidden by a black-glassed pair of protective glasses. She wore an understanding smile that was somehow comforting, even though Eleanor feared those three words.

"I don't think so," she replied, looking at her feet. The metal chairs were made for adults, and made Eleanor feel like a toddler. Her feet didn't touch the floor, her toes just barely skimming when she pointed them.

The agents had met them outside of Rand Corps, they had _rescued_ the Challengers…or what was left of them. These agents had rescued the dead shells of the Challengers, like when Eleanor was younger, and she had had those fruit-flavored juice boxes. That's what they were. Juice boxes. It sounded ridiculous, and Eleanor hated to admit it was the truth. They had been full of enthusiasm, and then it had been squeezed out of them, until they were just the crumpled use-to-be-enthusiastics, like a juice box robbed of its juice.

"Why not **?** " inquired the curious agent.

"'Cuz. We're not Challengers. We're not even _challenging_. They've taken us down twice now…" grumbled Eleanor solemnly.

The girl laughed, an action that seemed shockingly out of place, "Well kid, you know what they say, third times the charm."

Eleanor found it unusual that the girl had called her kid, she couldn't have been more than two years older. "Third time might be the charm for normal people, but not any of us."

"Shouldn't be so negative. You're not gonna get very far," the nameless agent sighed, seeming to remember something about the topic.

Eleanor looked away from the agent and up the ramp at Piper. The Siren had her arms wrapped around her legs and looked just about out of tears. The doctor, nurse, whatever she was, was double checking Rand and Drew's vitals, and making sure Drew's IV was okay. Rand had awoken by now. He was sitting up on his cot, hovering his hand over Drew's injuries. Attempting to heal them but cringing unintentionally with the effort.

"Who is she?" Eleanor asked, bobbing her head at the younger agent by Drew.

"All of the other agents call her Phantom," replied the teen at her side.

"What about him?" continued Eleanor, glancing through the barely opened door into the cockpit where an African American young man sat, piloting the jet.

"He goes by tons of stuff," said the agent as she got up and pulled a woolen blanket out of a compartment beneath Eleanor and her chairs. She put it over Spencer, who had finally fallen asleep. "Phantom and I like to call him the Strategist," she said as she sat back down.

"And you?" pressed Eleanor.

"My name doesn't matter much. I like to call myself Black Knight, or maybe just Knight," 'Knight' replied, flipping a stray strand of hair out of her face. "What should I call you?"

Eleanor knew she was just trying to ease the tension. "Glow," she muttered.

"How about Dreamland over there?" inquired Knight with a smirk.

"Lay off," Eleanor snapped, a bit meaner than she intended. Spencer didn't deserve any nicknames after what he had done for Drew, even if they were playful. "Sorry…" the 13 year old said after a bit.

"I understand," Knight responded. She didn't seem too happy about being snapped at by a 13 year old, but she also had an understanding tone.

"You can call him Psyox," Eleanor stated, glancing at the sleeping boy beside her.

Knight frowned in confusion, "Psyox? What does it mean?"

"Dunno. Anytime I ask he says it's a cross between psychic and ox. His powers are a lot stronger than anyone thought, so the ox part is probably about that," informed Eleanor.

"And the final two?"

"Siren. And Xenon…I think…" said the younger girl. Eleanor was the one to frown this time, "There's two more…they're not here…"

Knight's eyebrows raised behind her darkened glasses, "I'm sorry. How did they—?"

"No," said Eleanor quickly, shaking her head, eyes wide, "They're not dead. They're just not here. The Syndicate took them." She sent an unnoticed glare in Daedre's direction.

"Oh."

"Mhm."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The S.H.I.E.L.D. Medical Bay – The Playground_

 _1 Hour Later_

Spencer didn't like admitting fault.

It wasn't an observation, it was a fact. So when the S.H.I.E.L.D. doctors swarmed him and demanded to know what happened, he kinda freaked. He hated all the attention. The doctors were loud, probably louder than they thought, and they kept grabbing at him, trying to get his attention. Loud noises. Quick movements. His two biggest faults. He hated them. But he couldn't tell the doctors that. So he formed a force field around himself, blocking out the noise and forcing his way through the crowd.

He just wanted to see his friend. Drew had already been rushed into the ER by the time Spencer had sliced his way through the doctors and nurses. Spencer wasn't allowed to see him. He was told to wait in the waiting room. He was a waiter. He sighed.

Spencer had chosen the sofa across from the doors into the ER, so he could be the first to see if anyone entered. The agents who had taken them had annoyingly vanished before he could even consider thanking them, and an annoying thumping was rattling through the vents, giving him a bit of a headache.

"Can I sit by you?"

Spencer snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at Eleanor, who was tapping the tips of her toes on the ground nervously.

"Sure," nodded Spencer, moving over a bit. Eleanor sat down and brought her knees up, curling up next to the older boy and setting her head on his shoulder.

Spencer glanced at her and then away quickly, eyes a bit wider than usual. He wasn't used to people treating him like this. It was weird…but he did his best. Psyox adjusted his position, putting an arm around Eleanor and awkwardly patting her a few times. Rand flashed him a look from across the room, where he was chatting quietly with Hunter and Skye.

"Where are Piper and Daedre?" Spencer asked cautiously, averting his eyes from the group. He still didn't like the fact that Daedre was here. He didn't have much against Daedre specifically, but he wasn't fond of the Syndicate, _anyone_ from the Syndicate.

"Piper's finishing getting debriefed 'cuz Lachlan…can't right now. And Daedre is getting a…well, Agent May called it a _chat_ , so I don't really know what _we_ would call it," replied Eleanor.

Spencer's eyes reverted back to the double doors that led to the ER as they bounced in movement. After a minute he realized someone must have just bumped them. Drew was in good hands. Lana and Jemma were leading the surgery; both of them had the most experience.

Annaleise Callen, the detective from the NYPD, had arrived via S.H.I.E.L.D. transportation. She had been permitted to stay but only on the condition none of this is mentioned to the police or S.H.I.E.L.D. would be forced to 'take her out of the conversation'. The detective was now comforting Piper, who must have just finished debrief, while Daedre sat in a chair across the room.

Spencer readjusted his position with Eleanor but paused at the sight of a discolored arm. _Geez_ , he thought curiously, _musta used a little more energy than I thought_. He got comfortable again. The force field wielder had managed to get some sleep on the way to the Playground, but he wasn't just mentally and physically drained, he was _spiritually_ sapped of energy. His soul felt like someone had hit it with a truck and backed up over it.

The door opened slowly.

Spencer felt a small burst of energy, he tapped Eleanor and she opened her previously shut eyes, sitting up. Piper and Annaleise looked up, Daedre sent the door a nervous glance. Jemma appeared at the door, rubber gloves were on her hands. Spencer paled when he realized their original color was pale blue, not red.

"Drew suffered an injury to his small intestines and he lost a _colossal_ amount of blood…he's been unconscious since you arrived and we don't think he has much longer…" announced Jemma sadly.

Spencer felt himself weaken, even though he thought his energy was drained.

"You can go see him," Jemma offered, stepping aside.

Piper entered the room, Annaleise at her heals. Spencer stood up but didn't move.

 _We don't think he has much longer_. The words echoed through his skull and he stared with wide eyes at the tile floor. He felt a tug at his hand and felt Eleanor pull him forwards. He walked, but not under his own control. He couldn't move. Not now. He felt…detached. Drew was going to die.

Drew, one of the many brothers he never had, was going to die in less than an hour. The doors closed with a clap and Spencer froze again. Drew was lying on a metal operating table. A series of wires and tubes formed his lifeline. He was pale, paler than usual by far. His black hair was tousled and his maroon eyes were blocked by closed eyelids.

Piper was hugging Annaleise, her back turned to Drew, head buried in Annaleise's shoulder. Daedre was hanging back, not wanting to get on anyone else's nerves. Eleanor bit her lip, and took a couple steps forwards. She stopped halfway to the table, but then continued, her facial expressions made it look like she was struggling.

Spencer took a couple slow steps forwards. One foot in front of the other. He felt something wither up inside of him when he saw his close-to-brother up close. Eleanor took one of Drew's hands, but she flinched. Spencer couldn't bring himself to touch Drew. Not in this state. He didn't know why.

Maybe it was the skin tone, the sea of paleness that had overtaken his friend. Or maybe it was the dying rise and fall of Drew's chest. The slowing beep from the heart monitor that only discouraged Drew's survival. It burrowed into Spencer's mind, every beep sounding like a fading echo in his skull.

"Should…should we say something?" Annaleise asked uncertainly, looking at Spencer.

Spencer didn't know why she was turning to him. He didn't move. He didn't even breath. Because for a split second he didn't want to. He wanted to stop breathing. He wanted to go with Drew. Keep him company. But he couldn't do that. Not with the girls waiting for him. He had to protect them, especially with the absence of Tamashi and Lachlan.

"Hey Drew…"

Spencer dragged his eyes over to Eleanor.

"Er…so…I know this is probably scary…but…you just gotta be brave…okay?" Eleanor asked weakly, squeezing Drew's hand. "We'll be here…if you ever want to visit us…and…we—we'll always be thinking about you. I'm sure you're terrified right now…I would be too…" she said honestly. "But we're all here for you…and we'll help you…and who knows? May—maybe…" a tear trailed down her cheek and she bit her lip.

"Maybe they have Star Wars up there…and maybe you could watch it…" she sobbed once, "So maybe when I get up there I could maybe watch it with you?" A tear dropped onto the table. Piper and Annaleise looked at Eleanor with sorrowful tear-filled eyes. "I—I don't know if you can hear me…and I don't know if y—you can watch Star Wars up there…b—but my mom and dad used to tell me that everyone found happiness when they d—died…so I—I think you will…b—because m—my Mom never l—lied to me…"

"So, p—please Drew, don't be scared. B—because we…we love you Drew," Eleanor broke, letting out a cry. She bent over, pressing Drew's hand to her forehead as she cried. And as Eleanor cried, the echoing beeping of the heart monitor slowed.

Until it stopped all together.

 **Hey guys. So I'll admit, I'm quite depressed after writing this chapter. It was very emotional for me to write. I have a song for you guys to listen to while reading the speech, PM me if interested, it adds a lot of emotion to the story.**

 **I would really like you guys to just splurge on the emotions you just felt because it helps me write better and I like hearing how I did on each chapter. I really wanted to focus on the connection that Spencer and Drew had. I know we didn't get to see all that much of it, but I hope I got the point across. Spencer and Drew were extremely close, after the hell that they went through they became like brothers, and Spencer just saw his brother die.**

 **Their relationship will be expressed more so in the prequel story which will be published as soon as I finish organizing it. That prequel will be a place where you guys can PM/reply what scenes you wished you had scene. There'll be more detail on that later.**

 **Focusing on tonight's point: Rest in Peace Drew Pond. You'll be missed greatly. Thank you to MysteryAgain for such an amazing character.**

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 **But here's the thing…*smiles evilly* Was that so called 'random bolding glitch' so random? I dunno...hehe...you should go double check those 15 bolded letters (including 1 punctuation) ****Let me know what you discover via PM or review.**

 **Rest in Peace Drew,**

 **-AG**


	18. Healing

Chapter 15-

 **Hey hey, I'm back. :) The reason for my 2 day absence? Well, I took a break after my three day writing on Wednesday, and then yesterday I was out of the house all day, and exhausted when I returned. Thought I should explain what happened. :)**

 **So it seems like most of you found out my little surprise ending there, so that's pretty nice. I'm not gonna give you guys the answer, of course, because what fun would that be? XD Thanks to everyone for all of the positive feedback!**

 **So in this chapter there's gonna be some wide variety in action. Let's go check it out, shall we?**

 _Stefans Mansion Basement, Stefans Mansion_

 _Private Property - Countryside New York_

Tamashi awoke to a dull pain that quickly escalated into a loud ringing.

" _T"_ Tamashi shook his head, his movements slowed and lethargic. _"Tamashi_." The Asian opened his eyes, blinking a few times. The cement room was—he paused. _Cement room?_ Blinking a couple more times, his head was cleared in a terribly slow process. _"T?"_ Tamashi raised his head and glanced to where the voice had come from.

"Tamashi? You with me?" Lachlan inquired.

Tamashi looked his friend over, lifting his head on an aching neck. His friend was strung up like some sort of puppet, his hands tied together and his body dangling from them, feet a foot off of the ground. With a sudden painful realization, Tamashi realized he was in the same position, but only hanging from one arm. It was his left arm of course, his _human_ arm. His scar and bolt-riddled shoulder throbbed with discomfort.

"They took my arm?" Tamashi asked drowsily.

"Yea," Lachlan agreed with an awkward nod.

Tamashi craned his neck, looking at the chains that he was strung from. "How long was I…?"

"Not sure," Lachlan halted, cringing, "No windows. Think it was about a day that we've been in here."

The Teleporter's eyebrows raised and he looked back at his Irish friend. He felt the bruises from the rocks that had fallen on top of he and Lachlan start to burn with the movement. "You're bleeding." Tamashi stated emotionlessly.

"You are too," replied Lachlan, glancing at the puddles of blood that had formed under both of them, a drip falling every other second. Lachlan was bleeding from cuts on his sides that had slashed through his tuxedo. Tamashi noticed that Anguish seemed to have retreated.

He focused, glancing at a point in the small rectangular cell, right in front of Lachlan. _Focus_ , _focus, focus._ He felt as his body began to enter the Port, as Spencer commonly referred to it, and—he stopped abruptly, reverting back to this dimension, as a sharp pain ran through his head.

"I cannot teleport," the Asian stated solemnly.

"Yea, they've got these chains rigged to stop me from—" Lachlan readjusted his arms, obviously extremely uncomfortable, "—calling Anguish."

Tamashi glanced back up at his chains, "Electri—?"

He was cut off by the sound of the metal door opening with a hollow screech. Two men in Hydra gear entered the cell silently, the only noise being their boots slapping the cement as they marched. Both men pulled out a separate device in unison, walking over to one of the two superheroes.

The man on Lachlan's side pulled out a short metal rod the size of his forearm. Tamashi's Hydra man pulled out a shiny silver rectangle about the size of a brick. Tamashi's metal socket sent a shudder through the rest of his body as the silver brick drew near.

Meanwhile, the end of Lachlan's metal rod burst to life with white hot electricity. Lachlan's eyes widened and he jerked away from the rod. Tamashi couldn't focus on Lachlan, or try to help, because the shudder had grew into a burning hot pain in his metal shoulder. He felt the socket adjusting its positioning, moving towards the magnetic brick, and the bolts in his shoulder were being ripped from his skin.

He let out a shout of surprise, gritting his teeth and trying not to give the guards the joy of seeing him scream. When it finally stopped he let out a fast exhale, releasing the breath he had been holding and continuing to bring in sharply cut breaths.

The guards left without a war and two women entered, it seemed that they were only a small difference in age from each other. As soon as the older woman stepped into the dim lighting of the cell, a natural glare formed on Tamashi's face.

"You," Lachlan spat.

" _Meinu_ ," Tamashi growled.

"Oh come now," said the woman, her voice like silken cloth, smooth and seamless, "We've already met, so I expected you both to at _least_ remember my name."

Tamashi didn't remember her name. She had only told him once, and he expected it was the same as Lachlan. He remembered her face, however, and it was not a face that he was fond of, no matter of how beautiful she was. Many men at Omega Point had admired her; even a few prisoners who had been _tortured_ by her had fallen under her spell.

"This is my darling, Killer," the woman introduced, gesturing to the girl at her side. It was hard to see in the dim light, but Tamashi quickly picked up the basics of her appearance. She was a beautiful girl, a bit older than Tamashi, probably roughly Lachlan's age. She had large eyes, the whites reflecting the small amount of light, multicolored hair and a sharp toothed smirk.

Killer bowed, flashing a smile at Lachlan.

"Now listen boys," the woman said, "I know that the magnet and Taser weren't fun so I suggest you surrender the location of your little 'Playground', a fitting title indeed. You were also very close with the Syndicate, and are currently oh so close with the Challengers, so we would like a list of _all_ of their weaknesses."

"You'd betray your own Syndicate?" Lachlan questioned, giving a taunting grin.

"Ha!" Killer chuckled, " _Her_ Syndicate? It's her boyfriend's not hers."

"Indeed, the Syndicate belongs to Incubus, not I," agreed the woman, giving a nod to Killer. "I do not care what happens to… _most_ of them." There was a drawn out pause before she looked back at Lachlan. "Now, unless you and Mr. Kinzoku want to start talking, Mr. Butler, you're going to experience unimaginable amounts of pain."

Neither Tamashi or Lachlan said a word. Not one.

Tamashi focused again, tensing and preparing to teleport. Another sharp pang ran through his skull, burning a crack across his mind.

"I'm afraid you're going to find that quite hard, Mr. Kinzoku," said the woman, turning her gaze to Tamashi. "Both Vixen and I are restricting you from any movement of that sort."

"You know, I really don't think you're gonna hurt us," said Lachlan, probably just to annoy her.

Tamashi played along. Lachlan had a plan…right? "You need us for the answers, therefore you cannot kill us."

"Who said anything about killing?" _Killer_ replied.

The woman flashed a glance at both of the boys and the terrible migraine from earlier returned, full force. Tamashi growled, tensing up and yanking himself upwards with his one arm, his teeth grinding against each other.

The pain was white hot _agony_. It seared through Tamashi's mind like a lion in search for prey. Invisible claws dug into his thoughts, ripping them to shreds. The claws proceeded to claw their way through his head, digging into the back of his eyes and snapping their jaws at his resistance. It ended abruptly and all at once, sending a tidal wave of misery through his skull.

Tamashi released all tension from his body at once, dropping limply back down, his muscles aching in dull throbs. Both he and Lachlan were panting for air, eyes wide. Tamashi's nose was bleeding from the sheer trauma that the event had brought.

"So long my darlings," sung the woman, her heels clicking as she left the cell.

"Yea, _toodles_ ," smirked Killer, flashing a wink at Lachlan.

The heavy metal door let out a loud ringing clang as it locked. Both boys scowled at it, hoping their eyes would burn holes through the thick metal.

"It was her," Lachlan stated eventually.

Tamashi tore his glance from the door and looked at the Symbiote Wearer. He nodded, "The one who silenced my screams."

Lachlan gave a stern look of agreement and met Tamashi's eyes, "The woman that made us into the freaks that we are."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

Piper sat on Drew's bed.

She hugged a pillow to her chest, a soft one, a dark black square pillow with deep green leaves that could only be seen from close up. She hugged it like it was going to vanish, vanish into nothingness and never come back. She sat, hugging it, knees to her chest, chin rested on the pillow.

And while Piper sat, Spencer and Eleanor cleaned, mainly just Eleanor. One day. It had been one day since Drew had died. Some people were afraid of that word, because it meant death, so they avoided it. Piper wasn't afraid of it. She embraced it. It meant that she had something left to fight for. She didn't want death, so she would fight for it. How ironic was that? You fight for something when you don't want it.

Meanwhile Daedre was in his…had to be at least his 20th questioning since he had arrived. Piper was starting to wonder if May was even getting new information, or if she just liked hearing Daedre repeat the same responses over and over again. She looked up as Eleanor walked past the bed with a large box in her hands.

Coulson had offered to have a few agents clean out Drew's dorm but Eleanor had volunteered to do it. Eleanor had offered so Spencer had followed. Spencer and Eleanor had gone so Piper had trailed behind. Annaleise was busy with NYPD business, and Lachlan and Tamashi were still off the grid.

 _Eleanor had recovered quickly_ , Piper noticed as she watched the younger girl lift another box and set it on top of the first, a smile playing her lips at her finished work. Then again, she had been forced to. The young girl seemed to have taken responsibility for Spencer and Piper, taking care of them both.

Spencer hadn't spoken to anyone but Eleanor and Piper. Not since yesterday, before Drew's departure. He kept a straight face, emotionless and rock hard. But every morning, when he came to get his breakfast from the lounge, his eyes were puffy and red.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Spencer inquired, his voice rugged from either crying or shouting at Coulson to save Drew, Piper wasn't sure. He was showing Eleanor a deck of cards that they used frequently back at Omega Point. They were worn down and blurred from finger prints, but they had happened to be in Drew's hand at the time of the building collapse and had been recovered by Hunter later on.

"Mhm," Eleanor replied, "Bet Lachlan liked them too, right?"

"Likes them. He _likes_ them," Spencer glowered, his eyes saddening.

Eleanor paused, and her smile slowly faded, "Right…sorry."

Spencer's eyes had vaguely saddened, hollowing out and becoming more distant. Eleanor apparently noticed. "Hey, it's okay Spence…they're fine. The Syndicate is probably just…holding them in a cell, or something…I'm sure they're fine."

Spencer was unresponsive, staring at the floor. Eleanor took his hand and squeezed it tightly. Spencer's eyes glided over to Eleanor and he attempted a smile. Eleanor smiled back, a little less enthusiastic then before. Piper felt sorry for her. She was 13 and she had way to much responsibility at the moment. She should have the right to mourn, to grieve, but as much as Piper wanted to help…she just couldn't. Her body wasn't listening to her. It just wanted to sit here with this pillow. Sit and not move. Eleanor released Spencer's hand as he began to continue to load up boxes. Instead she walked over to Piper.

"Hey Piper," said Eleanor.

Piper hummed in response.

Eleanor set a hand on Piper's shoulder, "How're you feeling?"

Piper bit her lip, "Fine I guess."

A blind man could tell it was a lie, but Eleanor agreed anyways. "Alright, well, let me know if you need anything…okay?"

Piper nodded, her chin pressing into the pillow's edge. "Thanks El."

Eleanor smiled a bit and then stood up, running over and catching one of Drew's sneakers, which had fallen off of an overflowing box that Spencer was holding. Spencer nodded a thanks and Eleanor balanced it back on top. It was that moment that a knock came at the door. The door was open but Skye had been respectful, knocking anyways.

"Coulson wants to see you guys down in the TR," Skye reported. TR, Training Room. Training. Fantastic. "It's important." She added. Piper raised her eyebrows a smidge. Important? That could be good news. Maybe they found Tamashi and Lachlan.

She pried herself off of Drew's bed, abandoning the pillow on the comforter.

Upon arrival, Piper, Spencer and Eleanor were met by all of Coulson's team plus Daedre, Pat and Lana. Piper felt hope rise. Had they found the boys? Were they being sent out right now to go get them?

"Alright," Coulson started, "I thought you all should know that Lana is going to be spending more time here. She'll be working as your eyes in the sky and back up if needed."

Piper felt the hope sink back down. Did Coulson think that Lachlan and Tamashi weren't returning? Piper had no problem with Lana, she would make a great addition to the team…but did Coulson really think that the team was that deep in trouble?

Piper glanced over and saw Eleanor give a reassuring look to Spencer, whose eyes had darkened considerably. Piper herself was a bit torn up, unfocused. She had wanted that news _so_ badly. She wanted Tamashi and Lachlan to get back, the silent Asian and supportive Irish.

"I'm not really sure if a biochemist is gonna help us much…" said Eleanor finally, giving an apologetic look to Lana, who looked a little hurt.

"Don't consider me your average biochemist," Lana replied quietly, holding her head high even though her voice wavered, "I have abilities, a lot like yours. That's why the Director sent me to the Hydra facility. I can possess other people."

"How does that help us?" Daedre questioned. It was the first words he had said to any of them in quite a while, and the question didn't seem rude, but more honest curiosity.

"I'm not done," said Lana in a small voice, "I can perform consciousness transferals…"

"Erm…consciousness transferals?" Eleanor raised an eyebrow of confusion.

"I can put someone's mind into another body," Lana explained nervously.

Piper's eyes widened as the dots connected in her mind, "You—can you…can you use that to save Drew?"

"Yes."

Spencer's eyes snapped up to Lana.

"But…the damage to Drew's body was extensive so…we might need…" Lana trailed off, looking away.

"A spare body," Skye filled. Lana nodded solemnly.

"You're going to need help finding one, so Coulson and I called in a couple friends," Pat informed, her eyes brightening with hope. Piper hadn't seen much of her since Drew's death. She had disappeared as soon as they had left Rand Corps. She'd talked to the pilot of the plane and then left, gone. Where? Piper expected she was going back for Lachlan and Tamashi, but she wasn't sure.

Piper had been worried that Pat would get caught, but seeing as she was here, now, the theory had been thrown off. Now that she thought about it, maybe Pat had been retrieving the 'friend' she had recruited.

Coulson nodded in agreement, "They'll take Lachlan and Tamashi's places."

"Until they return," Piper snapped.

"Of course," Jemma said reassuringly from behind Piper.

"Victor Valentine, first new recruit," informed Hunter as a boy walked in. "He'll be training with me from now anyways, so we figured…although I hadn't been aware that he was friends with _her_." The Brit sent an uncomfortable glance at Pat.

The boy was tall with short curly black hair and dark brown skin. He had hazel eyes that scanned the room swiftly and casually, a sideways smile briefly appearing.

"Wait…Valentine?" Eleanor paused. "The Pilot Guy, right?"

"Guess you can call me that," replied Victor with a slight nod.

"Where're your friends?" Piper asked.

"Not here. They work at a separate facility," Victor responded. It sounded robotic, planned even, Piper made a note to ask about it later.

"We're also bringing in Annaleise," Coulson stated, breaking Piper's thought trail. Annaleise walked in in a freshly sewn black suit that matched the others'. She wore a proper mask that looked like flames swirling around her face. A sword was sheathed on her back, its hilt was decorated with intricate flame designs. She gave a small smile and walked over to stand by Piper.

"If you're just moving the soul, then where is it now?" all eyes went to Spencer and his shallow voice as he looked at Lana, seemingly unaware of Victor, but focused on the topic of Drew's resurrection. "Since Drew's body is…underground…"

"His soul is bodiless at the moment," replied Lana perkily, pepping up when she noticed she had been addressed. "It's on the, um, the Spiritual Plain…"

"Don't worry about that. Just work on finding a suitable soul-less body for Drew," May urged, "Rand said he knew a guy so I suggest you all go talk to him."

"Right…" Victor sighed, "That sounds fun."

"Whatever. Let's just get going," Spencer snapped.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Stefans Mansions_

 _Private Property – Countryside, New York_

"I _cannot_ be the only one that's suspicious of her," Naia growled, crossing her arms.

"Don't worry babe, I support you," Daniel flashed a smirk as he glared up at Aeron from where the Syndicate were training in the training court as Aeron and Kris watched them from the upstairs viewing deck. Daniel attempted putting an arm over Naia's shoulders and she flicked it off.

"She _is_ acting a little suspicious," Dragunov agreed observantly.

"I don't get what the problem is," Vandella rolled her eyes, blowing up a target with a beam from her eye. "We should be focusing."

"What's up with the weird look she gives you?" asked Rebecca, giving a questioning look to Naia as she burned a hole through another target.

"If I knew I would tell you," replied the annoyed Italian. She telepathically turned a wooden target to smithereens and threw another snarky look at Aeron.

"Maybe she's a lesbian," Daniel recommended. He seemed deep in thought, tapping his chin. Dragunov stared at him, no surprise in his face whatsoever. Rebecca looked from Naia to Daniel and back again, as if to say, 'he did not just say that…did he?' Vandella face palmed and Emma rocked from one foot to the other. Naia just stared.

"Just because a girl gives another girl a certain looks does _not_ mean she's a lesbian," Rebecca stated blatantly.

"Yea, but she _could_ be," Emma pointed out shyly, "I mean…maybe Daniel's right…" she looked at her feet fretfully. Rebecca threw Emma a disgusted look, cocking an eyebrow and gaping.

"Don't think so," Dragunov disagreed.

"You realize she has a boyfriend...right?" Naia inquired, giving Daniel a hard look.

"Mhm," Daniel nodded, "It was just a suggestion, baby."

Naia turned back to Vandella, ignoring the nickname, the 9 year old had stopped blasting targets apart. She was glancing intensely from Naia back to Aeron and then down to Naia once again. She puckered her lips in thought, eyebrows knit together.

"What the hell are you looking at?" Naia demanded, crossing her arms and chucking an annoyed look at the girl.

"Are you two related?" Vandella asked suddenly.

"Excuse me?! _Sei pazzo?!_ " Naia growled angrily, balling her hands into fists. She was ready to rip the little dwarf's head off for relating her to that…that…that _witch_. Daniel grabbed her quickly, pulling her backwards from Vandella.

"You guys have the same eyes," said Vandella, glaring right back at Naia with an violence that could very well belong to a pack of wild dogs.

"Hers are green. Mine are amber," Naia hissed, imagining tearing each and every one of Vandella's wild dogs apart.

"The shape you idiot," Vandella snapped back, looking at Naia like she wanted to skin her.

"I guess you guys do kinda look alike…" Rebecca agreed, flashing her eyes between the two.

"Shut up," Naia spat, with venom so strong it could take down an elephant.

Dragunov narrowed his eyes, "It's a possibility."

Naia growled, shooting out Italian curses. She spun heel and walked to the other side of the training mat. _Like hell it's a possibility_.

 **Okay guys! I have to go! I'll be announcing a few things in the next chapter since I don't have time now! I'm literally supposed to be leaving for a family thing and I'm running to finish this. Let me know your thoughts!**

 **IMPORTANT: Drew's funeral scene is NOT forgotten! It will happen, just not until the right moment!**

 **Till next time!**

 **-AG**


	19. Hopeless

Chapter 16-

 **Alright guys, sorry for that rushed exit in the last chapter. XD So, as previously announced, I have a few announcements. :) They're very important so please read them.**

 **So, I've figured out the premise of the Prequel that I am going to write. It will be a story where you guys will be able to suggest scenes that we didn't get to see, that you want to see. For example, if Spencer mentions "Like that one time back at Omega Point." You can review and say "I want to see 'that one time at Omega Point' that Spencer was talking about" and I'll write it up and post it on the prequel, or "I would like to see _'s full past."**

 **A lot of the chapters will be one shots of the Challengers and Syndicate hanging out at Omega Point, meeting, etc. So, PM me if you have any early suggestions and they'll probably be in the first few chapters. :) Let me know if you have any questions.**

 **Finally,** **WARNING** **: from now on I'm going to put up the torture/blood warning because this story is gonna take a bit of a darker turn. It's nothing inappropriate or random, but it is going to be a tad bit intense and a tiny bit graphic. Thought I should alert everyone.**

 **NOW! Shall we?**

 _Stefans Mansion_

 _Private Property – Countryside, New York_

 _3 Weeks Later_

Kris strolled into one of the seven living rooms of the Mansion. This room had a large U couch and a glass coffee table, a flat screen television and large glass doors that led to a patio, along with a fireplace (currently off) and a door to the basement, seeing as the living room was on the main floor. It was connected to the kitchen. The kitchen was a smaller room that was opened up into the living room. A dark granite island was placed among the marble countertops and classy furnished wood cabinets.

He entered the living room with grace, exiting the dining room, which was connected to the living room by a separate wooden door. It was at that moment that a throwing dart landed roughly a half-inch from his face, diving deep into the wooden target that had been placed on the doorframe.

"Oh, do be careful Daniel, I would rather _not_ lose my dashing appearance," Kris scolded mildly.

Daniel murmured an apology from where he was sitting on the couch. He had taken up an odd position, upside down, legs bent over the backrest, head hanging off of the seating part. He held a game console in his hands, an Xbox controller if Kris saw correctly, and was staring intensely at the screen, where a round of _Halo_ was currently in progress. He continued playing with one hand, picking up another dart off of the coffee table and chucking it at the target. It landed directly on top of the first, bouncing off and clattering to the floor.

Kris looked around the comfortable room. Vandella was laying on the couch, one of the longer sides, her head resting on the backrest, her face buried in one of the latest fashion magazines. Rebecca appeared to be playing poker against Naia, who seemed to be losing. Dragunov was pouring himself a drink in the kitchen while Emma frantically tidied up, doing it because 'she just wanted to show her thanks' as she had said when Kris had asked. Aeron was out shopping with Killer, probably spending some of Kris's savings, not that he had anything to worry about on the topic of going broke.

Kris glanced at the basement door as a series of terrible cries of agony emitted from the lower level. A string of Japanese curses along with a long stretch of profanities in a strong Irish accent sliced through the air. More ragged screams of pain filled the room. Daniel grumbled from his upside down seat on the sofa and snatched the remote from its place on the table, cranking up the volume a dozen notches. Electronic gunfire filled the room and Kris furrowed his brows in distaste. He didn't need to say anything, however, as Rebecca took care of that for him.

"Hey! Danny!" she snarled at Daniel, chucking a poker chip at him to get his attention. "Turn it down, would you?! You're girlfriend and I are trying to play poker!"

Daniel rolled his eyes but turned it down nonetheless. Kris had noticed that the Syndicate had become a decent bit closer than they had been a few weeks ago. Whether it had to do with the fact that Daedre had left and trust had been snapped (making the others want to prove themselves), or that the Syndicate finally had the upper hand, he wasn't sure. It didn't really matter as long as they were getting along.

Another scream tore through the air and Kris tapped his chin, "Unfortunately our means of convincing don't seem to be working efficiently." He announced, gaining the attention of the room's occupants.

"So what do you recommend we do?" Dragunov inquired as he walked in, drink in hand, and sat down on the opposite side of the couch from Vandella.

"Honestly? Nothing. We wait until those two pass and then go after the others," Kris stated. 6 pairs of surprised eyes found their way to him.

" _Pass?_ You mean _die?_ " asked Vandella curiously, her head poking up out of the magazine.

"Yes, unfortunately, I do indeed mean die," nodded Kris.

Satisfied with the response, Vandella returned to her magazine, obviously not caring whether or not the two boys died. Emma, on the other hand, perked up quite a bit.

"Wait, die? They're—they're gonna die?" she squeaked. "Like, _die_ die?"

"Is there another kind that you know of?" Rebecca scoffed, rolling her eyes as she continued to play.

"What else would we do with them? Let them go?" jeered Naia, shaking her head at the thought.

"Well…" Emma silenced, frowning and continuing to tidy up the dishes in the cabinets.

"That's what I thought," Naia sneered.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

Annaleise knew that the team was in shreds. They were hopeless. Not the 'we're giving up on them' hopeless, no, they weren't hopeless they were _hopeless_ , as in: without hope. Piper had cheered up a slight bit when she had joined a monitoring squad for time being, scanning the world for Tamashi and Lachlan. Spencer was speaking a couple sentences every now and then, better than before she supposed. Eleanor was still scampering around, trying to cheer everyone up.

3 weeks ago the Challengers had been lifeless, like zombies, stumbling around and unsure what to do next. They were comedian-less, leader-less, ninja-less. Not to mention that their team's Sarcasm Support wasn't talking, their Second in Command wasn't giving commands, and the youngest had become the oldest in a matter of days. Pat, the ridiculous immortal, had gone missing since the day after Drew's funeral. Coulson had assumed she was out looking for the missing boys and a new body for Drew.

That's what the Challengers, or what was left of them, had been doing. Looking for people to kill so that Drew could live. The problem? The Challengers were not killers. The Challengers were not psychos that would sacrifice someone to Drew's spirit like some sort of ancient ritual. So, as it had been decided 2 weeks ago, they were now searching for an already soulless body. They'd traveled through a series of advanced connections that S.H.I.E.L.D. had contact with; supernatural beings, a couple demons, some facility in Sparrow Falls, Maryland. Anyone that could have information on how to bring back someone from the dead—or rather the spiritual plain—and place them into a body, but not hurt them.

Easy.

Annaleise's life had been practically turned upside down. She used to be a child genius with working parents, and then she was a Hydra slave with an almost _almost_ simple life, and after that she was known as the Youngest Detective in the NYPD. Now? She was just your average super powered teen on a team of other super teens working for a top secret agency that no one knows about, but everyone wants to know about, that just so happens to work with the Avengers, and has Saving the World Thursdays instead of Fish Fry Fridays. Huff. Yup, her life was a mess.

And now, as she stood in a small laboratory with a holotable in the center, she had been placed on team with a currently sarcasm-less sarcastic boy, a command-less second in command, a seemingly old, but actually just 13 year old, a missing ninja, a missing leader, a missing immortal, and who was wedged in between? An NYPD detective, an alien and a mercenary in training.

"How's she doing?" Annaleise asked, turning to the blue skinned alien that stood at her side. He looked at her, obviously surprised that someone was talking to him. He didn't respond, but instead decided to just stare at her. She cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Oh, um, she's fine," Daedre replied, looking away from Annaleise and instead looking over to Piper, who was watching something play out before her eyes that no one else could see. "Well…she's better. She's not fine. Two of her closest friends are missing and her almost boyfriend just died. So, it's sort of understandable."

"Did May say anything about what we should do? The Challengers haven't actually _protected_ anything in quite a while and I don't think those S.H.I.E.L.D. teams can take their place much longer," Annaleise sighed, looking through one of the windows into the corridor where yet another wounded S.H.I.E.L.D. agent was being carried down the hall on a gurney.

"Indeed," nodded Daedre, strong arms crossed, "The enemy is going to take its advantage if we do not act soon."

"And what do you expect us to do?"

Annaleise turned with raised eyebrows to Spencer, who was sitting in one of the many rolling chairs in the lab, slumped a bit, arms crossed. His eyes were closed and Annaleise had thought he was sleeping, but obviously not.

"To be honest?" Annaleise queried, feeling her shy side shout at her to retreat. "I—" she paused, clearing her voice, which had cracked considerably, "I expect you to get your shit together."

Spencer's eyes opened at that, "My brother just died. My other two are missing." He snapped, looking up at her under lowered brows.

"I get that, but you're gonna have to get over this eventually," Annaleise said, mustering as much courage as she could. Daedre's eyes flashed from Spencer to Annaleise in anticipation. "Drew wouldn't want you guys to sit here and live the rest of your lives under a gray cloud."

"You don't get it," muttered Spencer, sinking back into his chair.

"Spencer, Life hurts sometimes," Annaleise sympathized, "It's mean. I know that."

Spencer just shook his head.

Annaleise turned away from him and back at Daedre.

"You should go cheer her up," she recommended.

"Who? _Her_?" Daedre gaped, nodding his head at Piper. Annaleise hummed in agreement. She gave Daedre a small—literal—push in the right direction and he stumbled a bit before regaining his composure and starting a conversation with the downed songbird.

Fitz walked into the lab with a sigh, scratching the back of his neck irritably and beginning to look at the map hovering over the holotable, flicking the image around a _bit_ too aggressively.

"How'd the talk with Coulson go?" asked Piper, perking up.

"Not so good," replied Fitz with an irritated frown, "He says that we've searched everywhere we can except the private properties. The General isn't letting us look there because the owners of those properties don't want anything to do with the Government—including S.H.I.E.L.D—and we could get sued fer trespassing."

"So basically, he's saying we should stop the search?" Piper demanded.

"Umm, yes…" Fitz nodded reluctantly.

"We—we can't just give up!" Piper gawked, sticking a hand at the door, "They're still out there somewhere!"

"Piper…" Eleanor started, grabbing her free hand.

"No!" snapped Piper, pulling her hand away, "I thought S.H.I.E.L.D. was supposed to help people!"

"We've done all we could," Bobbi Morse announced. She was leaning on the doorframe, but Annaleise hadn't seen her earlier and figured she had just arrived. "Skye's scanning the non-legal world for any signs of them. Simmons is trying to track them through blood samples. S.H.I.E.L.D. can only do so much."

"It's two boys! How hard can it be?!" Piper demanded.

"Siren," Daedre shook his head, setting a hand on her shoulder. Piper bit her lip. She turned around and hugged Daedre, who paused, but hugged her back as she began crying again.

Annaleise knew Coulson wasn't the only one expecting the worse. She knew it, Spencer probably knew it and Piper was amidst accepting it. It had been 3 weeks with no threats from the Syndicate, no ransoms made on Tamashi or Lachlan, no word from them either. Tamashi and Lachlan were either dead or about to be and the Challengers couldn't do anything about it. They were at a dead end. Going out and looking would be a goose chase because they didn't know where to look. The only place that the scans hadn't checked were the private properties, where the boys were most likely being held, and they couldn't look over the millions of private properties scattered across the land because they could go to jail for it.

The Challengers were a cat stuck up a tree with a vicious dog clawing at the trunk below them and a fire on the leaves above them. Spencer got up from his seat next to Annaleise and walked towards the exit. He paused in front of Annaleise and looked her with fury filled eyes.

"Life's not mean. Life's an ass."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Unknown Location – Suspected Hydra Trading Warehouse_

"I'm finding it pretty ridiculous that Coulson isn't bending the rules and allowing a check on the private properties," said Victor as he kicked a broad shouldered Hydra agent in the gut, barely paying attention as he fought. Hydra's idiots weren't exactly hard.

"Yeah, well, as much as I hate to say it: he's the boss, and we have to listen to 'im. Even if we don't agree with it," replied Hunter, shooting a muscular growling Hydra man in the shoulder with his I.C.E.R.

Lance had pretty much taken Victor under his wing since training had begun. Victor was lucky enough to have a teacher as experienced in the field as Hunter. He'd learned the ropes relatively quickly and he was relieved to find that Hunter wasn't as strict as his father. It made the job more enjoyable. However there was one question that Victor had.

"I've had this question ever since you started training me," he said, voicing his opinion. "But I never got the chance to ask." His knee connected with another man's crotch, his fist with the man's face, and the man crumpled to the ground.

"Go on then," Hunter nodded, bringing his fist over a small man's jaw and shoving him into another female Hydra guard.

Victor was delayed as a woman charged him. He ducked her punch and swept her feet out from under her, shooting her with his I.C.E.R. "Why'd you join S.H.I.E.L.D. if you don't agree with the Director's opinion?" asked Victor with a raised eyebrow. He glanced at his teacher but quickly returned focus to the battle.

Hunter smirked a bit, shooting someone in the chest, "Like I once told the General, _why does any man do anything? I met a girl_."

"Morse?" Victor asked, Hunter nodded, "Wait…you've met the General?" the younger agent marveled, eyes widening slightly.

"Yep," grinned the mercenary, laughing a little at his trainee's brief childishness. "And what about you? Why'd you join S.H.I.E.L.D.? Coulson said you used to be a full-fledged mercenary, much like myself, not under the accountancy of S.H.I.E.L.D. Just a couple years ago, if I'm correct," he halted, another bullet connecting with a woman's arm. "What happened? Why did you continue doing it? Why join S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Some of it was my mum," relayed Victor, "But I guess you could say that the only reason I didn't stop being a mercenary was for the same reason you joined S.H.I.E.L.D." He backhanded a man's knee and then sent a chop into the man's throat.

"Met a girl?" Hunter inquired curiously, flashing a glance at Victor.

Victor smiled and elbowed a Hydra guard.

"Suppose that's all of them," he announced.

Hunter walked over and nodded at their work, "Right. We should get back to the Playground. Cross this location off for Tamashi and Lachlan."

"Uh huh," Victor agreed, beginning to exit, stepping over the fallen bodies of the Hydra.

"Wait…" Hunter paused, "You didn't answer the question!" he accused, trotting after Victor. "Was it 'cause you met a girl?"

Victor smirked again, finding it fun to see his mentor frantic like that.

"Was it?!"

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Stefans Mansion Basement, Stefans Mansion_

 _Private Property - Countryside New York_

Tamashi had lost all feeling in his arm. It had paled considerably and his fingers refused to stop twitching. The only time that he could feel _anything_ was when something made contact with his arm, then pins and needles dug into his skin and sent pain ricocheting across his limb.

Lachlan had been lucky enough to slip back into unconsciousness. The Irish's skin had paled to a dangerous level, the puddle—now pool—of crimson had tripled in size. That confused him, because they had obviously lost more blood than they had inside of themselves in the first place. Sweat lined both boys' foreheads and neither of them were breathing at a safe pace.

Tamashi turned his head, looking at the door with horrendously sluggish movements. The small action sent the room swirling. His chest stung. Not externally, but internally, which probably wasn't a very good sign. Tamashi couldn't tell how long they had been locked in this room, but it had been long enough to memorize every crack and crevice in the cement cell.

Enough time to count how many chain links were holding them up, enough to count the minutes it took before one of the woman's men was going to return and hurt them, enough time to count the seconds closer they were to dying.

The Asian tried not to think about the events that had taken place during the time they had been in this cell. It was a mistake, seeing as the memories swarmed him in a giant herd. The whipping. The electricity. The drowning. The knives. The fear. It all attacked Tamashi at once, making him wish that he was as privileged as Lachlan was at the moment.

The past days had reminded Tamashi of his time in Hydra. Those were not good days, and these weren't either. He closed his eyes, tuning out everything, urging his ears to work hard. _Step, step, step_ , someone was exiting the hallway outside of the door. _Step, step, step._ It sounded like they were getting farther away, probably going up the stairs. He concentrated. It didn't sound like there was anyone else. He couldn't hear anyone breathing, fidgeting, shuffling, adjusting weaponry, no talking or moving. It was an all-clear.

Tamashi sent a quick glance at his right shoulder. It was a horrid mess of bloodied screws, protruding bolts, metal and skin. He and Lachlan had long since lost their shirts, which had been stolen from them on the second or third day, he wasn't sure. Their pants had been converted to shorts, the ends chopped into ragged strips, masks long gone. Tamashi had noticed that Lachlan had a long sleeve tattoo of a dragon spiraling up his right arm, something Tamashi never got the chance to notice earlier.

"Lachlan," Tamashi rasped finally. He mustered as much strength as he could, kicking his legs a bit and beginning to rock slowly, the chains crinkling noisily with the movement. The Teleporter hissed through gritted teeth as pain begin to wrap around his body like a very much unwanted blanket. He swung forwards a bit more, shooting out his leg as best he could. He barely managed to skim Lachlan's foot.

Lachlan's eyes snapped open, widening. His mouth opened, a scream almost slipping out but he clamped his jaw shut, screwing his eyes closed, biting down on what Tamashi assumed was his tongue. Lachlan spat off to the side when he finished, a bit more blood adding to the collection they had started without choice.

"Sorry," Tamashi whispered, his throat engulfed by fire.

"'sfine," his friend croaked, words slurring. "Sorry for blacking out…"

Lachlan and Tamashi had grown close. A heck of a lot closer than they had been before. They had often been compared as brothers, but now they were closer. More than brothers.

"Ready?" asked Lachlan, looking over at the Asian with a blood spattered face. Tamashi took a long breath and then nodded, knowing they had to work fast. Lachlan began swinging, kicking his legs back and forth. Tamashi copied the movements, biting his tongue and letting out a series of swift breaths through his nose.

Then they made their move. Tamashi kicked forwards and locked his knee inside of Lachlan's. His leg was now bent over Lachlan's and Lachlan's leg was bent over his. The two were hanging on a weird angle because of this, muscles tense and agony swimming in and out of their veins.

It was hard to keep the position but it was necessary if they were going to escape. Lachlan leaned over, bringing his face to Tamashi's shoulder, straining his neck with the effort. Tamashi closed his eyes, trying to even his breath. The older boy at his side clamped his teeth down on one of the many screws in Tamashi's shoulder.

A terrible ripping sound echoed through the cell as Lachlan yanked his head back. All of Tamashi's preparation dissipated and he let out a ragged gasp, gritting his teeth and trying to silence a shout of misery as it slipped out between his teeth. Lachlan continued ripping the screw out, showing no mercy, just as Tamashi had advised.

They had gone to last resort. It had taken a week for them to gather this plan, another day to figure out when no one was outside, a second day to store up the strength for the actual movements, and they'd been working on it ever since. The first screw had been dropped, clattering to the floor in a terrible moment of failure. This was their second attempt and neither of the boys were in the mood to mess up again.

It wasn't easy to free the screws and bolts embedded in Tamashi's shoulder. But, with a loud and agonizing tear, the metal screw came free. The two boys swung away from each other, panting loudly. Tamashi bit his lip, taking breaths to try to calm himself.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

Lachlan hated that process. Tamashi was openly crying now, blood gushing out of the poor Asian's shoulder and streaming down his body only to drip onto the floor. Lachlan's vision was blurring, he quickly began the second phase of the plan. He sucked in breaths, the nail clamped between his teeth. He took one last glance at Tamashi. _Focus, he told you to focus_ , the Irish told himself internally.

 _Geez. Look at him. Crying. Psh_ , Anguish scoffed.

 _Shut up Anguish,_ Lachlan repeated.

Lachlan grunted, yanking himself upwards with all of the upper arm strength he had. His fingers refused to do what he said, twitching and shaking, but he managed to grab the screw from his teeth, holding it tightly. He let loose, dropping back down.

A few days ago Tamashi and Lachlan had discovered a small black box on one of the chain links. They had later figured out that it was the box that activated the electricity whenever Anguish tried to arrive. Destroy the box, get Anguish, free himself, free Tamashi, escape. Simple. So he began jabbing the screw into the hard box. It scratched the surface, but barely left a mark. Lachlan continued lashing out at it, digging the nail in with his shaky fingers.

"Tsk tsk, boys."

Lachlan froze. Tamashi stared at the door with wide fearful eyes. The two boys watched as the door opened with a loud clang. In stepped the sea glass eyed woman and Killer.

"Darlings, you know it won't be that easy," Sea Glass said, shaking her head mournfully. Killer strutted over to Lachlan. She gently dragged her nail down his jaw onto his chest.

"Oh baby, you're so pretty…" Killer sighed. She pouted, "I weally wish you didn't twy to escape." She said in a babying voice. "Now we might have to kill you." She looked away and Lachlan tried to hide his fear. Suddenly she jabbed her nails deep into a gash running across his chest. Lachlan shrieked in surprise, tensing and slamming his jaws together, trying to muffle his scream.

Killer stopped, smacking the nail out of Lachlan's hand. Aeron caught it with ease and slowly walked over to Tamashi, who was staring at her with pure fear. Her heels clicked dreadfully on the cement, the bottoms quickly getting stained with blood. She attacked like a cobra, fast and precise, snatching Tamashi's foot with ease. The Asian shouted in surprise, kicking at her furiously.

Aeron smiled cruelly as she jammed the screw into the bottom of his shoeless foot. Tamashi let out a cry of misery. She twisted it a bit, as if she was actually screwing it in.

"Stop!" Lachlan pleaded, jerking at his chains.

"There, I think that's a much better place for that, don't you?" nodded Aeron, she released Tamashi and exited the room. Killer grinned, blowing a kiss to Lachlan before leaving and closing the door.

Tamashi and Lachlan hung. They hung, surrounded by their misery and their blood, and they cried. Because as of right now, the situation was hopeless. They were going to die in this cell.

 **Yes, I know, I am cruel. But it had to be done! For the story! Please let me know what your thoughts were on the story, it helps me out a lot. Every time I update I try to have a new poll, just to let everyone know, so please check out the newest one.**

 **Also! I would like to ask that everyone who reads this story go and read Nefertam's story** _ **Follow Me Down**_ **because it is AMAZING. It's a marvel story that strays from tradition, it had brilliant character, a fantastic storyline and gorgeous description. :) Go check it out for me.**

 **I would also like to recommend the song "Hey Brother" by Avicii. I've been listening to it on loop for the past day. XD If you're a Scarlet Witch/Wanda or Quicksilver/Pietro fan let me know because I have an amazing video for you to watch!**

 **Till next time!**

 **-AG**


	20. Saved by Death

Chapter 17-

 **Alrighty! We're back with Children of Hydra! :D Hey so I would like to give a giant thank you to everyone who's reading and voted on the pole because the results came in and everyone either said "Too short! Go for 5000 words!", "Hey, whatever you can fit is fine with me." or "Nah, I like the length." Which, even though it may not seem like it, means tons to me because I am honored to have readers like you all who like my writing and appreciate it for how it is! So THANK YOU! :D**

 **On another note, I just organized the planning for this story and guess what?! Part 1 of Children of Hydra is coming to a close! It's insane but there's only 2-ish more chapters of Part 1 before we move onto Part 2! What does this mean? Well, there's gonna be a heck of a lot going on in the next two chapters, some new revelations, and maybe even new charac—Oh no! I've said to much! Ai Yi Yi, I'm too nice to you people. I swear it's gonna spoil my entire story. Just messing with all of you. You guys are awesome. :)**

 **Shall we?**

 _Stefans Mansion_

 _Private Property – Countryside, New York_

"Do I know you?!" Naia challenged, walking up to Aeron purposefully.

The beautiful young woman flashed a glance down on the dark haired girl, her crimson heels giving her a slight height advantage and putting a dent in Naia's threatening glare. Naia glared at her with annoyed eyes, but Aeron didn't respond for a good 30 seconds, gazing out of the windows that lined the hall.

"Know me?" she finally asked, raising an eyebrow and giving a mocking look, "Sorry Darling but I barely know your name. The only way you know me is because I'm dating your mentor," she finished thoughtfully.

Killer sent a mocking look at Naia from where she stood on Aeron's other side. The Italian swiftly returned by mouthing a certain cuss word. Killer gave a disgusted look and stuck her tongue out. Naia rolled her eyes, ignoring it.

"My…" Naia paused, thinking on the word for a moment, "… _comrades_ say we look alike."

Aeron turned to Naia, scoffing a bit. She looked Naia up and down. Naia broke her gaze, suddenly feeling self-conscious as Aeron gave an unimpressed look. Aeron paused at Naia's face, staring into her eyes with her narrowed sea glass orbs.

"Vixen dear, what did you say your name was?" asked Aeron finally. Killer flashed an annoyed glance between the two women.

Naia snorted, "I can't believe this. It's Naia you self-centered—"

"Naia?" inquired Aeron with wide eyes, taking a step forwards. Killer crossed her arms and followed, obviously not too pleased with the current events. "It's Naia?" repeated the telepath.

"That's my name, don't wear it out," nodded Naia reluctantly, stepping away from the two girls.

"Naia _Cardillo?_ " Aeron demanded.

Naia raised an eyebrow, "Umm…Yeah? Why?"

"Killer let's go," said Aeron sharply. She suddenly spun heel, walking at a swift pace down the hall. Killer sent Naia a wide eyed look that sent chills up Naia's arms, and then paced after Aeron.

Naia glared at the two of them as they turned the corner at the end of the hall. Aeron's heels echoed through the vast hallway and Naia crossed her arms. She sighed, looking out of the tall aged glass windows.

She swept her gaze over the front gate, nose crinkling in disgust, "Oh Vixen dear, I'm just gonna stare at you and make you uncomfortable. Oh Vixen darling, would you mind if I acted like your name was the most ridiculous thing on this planet? Vixen honey, I'm going to have to go now without an explanation, alright?" the Italian mocked in a high pitched voice that didn't at all resemble Aeron's but made her happy nonetheless.

Naia walked down the hall, entering her room.

"Hey Jo, I'm back," she called through the room after closing the wooden door. Her maid, Johanna, came scurrying out of the walk-in closet, where she appeared to have been hanging clean clothes. The maid's almond shaped eyes were wide with excitement, glittering in the light.

"Hello Madame Vixen," she greeted, "I'm happy that you have returned safely." She smiled.

"I was downstairs playing poker," scoffed Naia as she rolled her eyes.

The Telepath collapsed onto her white comforter-covered bed, lying on her stomach, hair splaying out around her head.

"Would you like a massage, Madame?" inquired Johanna, walking over to the foot of the bed.

"Nope. I'm fine," Naia said, her voice muffled by the pillow.

Johanna kept her ridiculous grin, "How about some strawberries?"

"No," snapped Naia. "I just wanna get some sleep, maybe relax a little. I just want some peace and quiet."

"How is Miss Sheinburg?" persisted Johanna. Naia let out a long 'ugh' at the maid's talkativeness.

"Fine," she deadpanned.

"Is everyone recovering well after the previous battle?" continued the maid.

Naia snarled, "Yes, yes, everyone's fine!"

"And you, Madame, you've recovered from your guilt?" Johanna asked, the stupid grin making the question seem heartless, much like the monotone she was speaking in.

"What guilt?" Naia demanded.

"The guilt of killing the agent from S.H.I.E.L.D.," replied Johanna emotionlessly.

Naia froze, "I—I didn't—he—" she stopped, turning away from Johanna.

She didn't kill Drew. Well, she did, but it wasn't her fault—it couldn't be, she was just, and then he was, and she, but that didn't mean that she, she hadn't meant to—it's just that—maybe, if he hadn't…Naia suddenly felt anger boil up inside her. Who said Johanna could call her out like this?! How was it her place?! And—and why would she?! It was none of her concern!

Without thought, Naia rolled over. She locked her hands into fists and growled angrily, teeth gritted. She then threw everything she had at Johanna, combing—no _forcing_ her way into Johanna's head and ripping up everything that her invisible talons caught hold of. Johanna screamed in agony, her grin disappearing, and her blank eyes widening. She grabbed a hold of her head, fingers burrowing into her long blackish blue hair as Naia shouted at her, letting out everything she had stored up in the past few days.

When she finished Johanna lay a crumpled heap on the floor. No longer speaking, but not dead. Sobs racked the maid's body, blood exited in a thin trail out of her nose. Naia's eyes didn't soften, they remained hard as stone. She jerked herself out of bed, vision blurring with tears. Running into the bathroom, Naia turned on the water, turning the hot water on full blast and sticking her hands under. She grabbed the bar of soap on the edge of the sink and washed her hands furiously.

Although she knew that there was nothing covering or contaminating her skin she scrubbed furiously, tears streaming down her cheeks. When she finished her hands were glowing red, irritated and sore to the touch. Naia took a few deep shaky breaths, trying to halt the sobs that wracked her body. She stumbled backwards, collapsing onto the edge of the bathtub, hiding her face in her hands.

"Ma'am?" Johanna's voice called through the locked door.

Naia froze, catching her breath swiftly, "Go away!" she choked out.

"Miss please, w—where am I?"

Naia paused, sniffling a few times before standing up and opening the door. Johanna stood, looking at her with a confused expression. Her nose had stopped bleeding but the maid looked disoriented.

"What happened? Where's David?" Johanna inquired, looking around, "Who are you? Where are we? Who was that man inside of my head? What am I wearing? Why are you crying?" her questions came rapidly, like a gun on rapid fire.

"Stop," Naia commanded sternly, immediately silencing Johanna. She closed her eyes briefly. What had she done to this woman? "Um," she let out a shaky breath, regaining her bearings, "You—you're in Stefans Mansion, New York. You—"

"New York?!" Johanna butted in, eyes wide with shock.

Naia furrowed her brows. What _had_ she done woman? "Yes, New York."

Johanna shoved a hand into her long black hair in a dismayed manor. "No! That—I can't be—oh my God, David! He was waiting for me and—"

"Hold on. Who's David? What do you mean?" Naia questioned. For some reason she felt insecure. She glanced around, not seeing anything, but still feeling… _off_. Naia grabbed Johanna's hand, pulling her into the bathroom and locking the door. "Explain." She commanded in a quiet tone.

"I—I'm from Lewiston, Maine. David is my—or _was_ my—boyfriend," Johanna explained. "I met him at this café downtown and I left to go get my phone because I had forgotten in the car…and then…" she paused, seeming to think about it.

"Y—you're from _Maine?_ " Naia gaped, "And you don't remember coming here?"

Johanna shook her head, giving Naia worried puppy-dog eyes.

"What happened after? Do you remember?" demanded the Italian.

"I…after that…I think…" Johanna trailed, distancing herself, "I saw _him_."

One of Naia's eyebrow's shot up in confusion, "Who? David?"

"No… _him_ that man that I mentioned earlier..." Johanna's eyes darted around, like she was seeing a horror movie play out in front of her eyes. "He—he kidnapped me! Drugged me or—or something!"

"What did he look like?" Naia continued with intense interested eyes and furrowed brows. Someone had kidnapped Johanna and brought her here. Something was wrong with this place.

"Y—younger guy, a—and he was…he had paler skin. Scars on the back of his hands," listed off the scared woman, holding up and tapping the back of her hands to get the point across. "Wavy-ish brunette hair…I think…" she muttered.

"Kris…" Naia trailed, looking at a particularly interesting spot on the bathroom floor tile.

A sudden furious knocking came at the door. Naia and Johanna froze. Johanna whimpered like a small child, eyes tearing up. She backed up slightly, moving behind Naia. Naia shot an annoyed glance at the woman but for the most part kept her eyes on the door.

"Hey, babe, you in there?"

Naia's shoulders slumped, but Johanna remained on edge. Meanwhile, Naia felt relief fill her body. She closed her eyes and let out a long breath, tension leaving her lungs.

"Daniel?" she demanded.

"Mhm," he hummed. "We gotta move."

Naia opened the door at that, "Move? Move where?" She asked, looking up into the steel blue eyes of the white haired boy.

"Away," replied Daniel sternly. This was the most serious she had seen him so far.

"Why?" demanded the Italian.

"Someone from S.H.I.E.L.D. is on the way," said the boy. He grabbed Naia's arm, forcefully but gently, and grabbed her backpack—or the backpack Kris had given her—, beginning to put random clothing into it. Naia noticed that he wore a bag similar.

"Who's that?" Daniel demanded, throwing a glance to Johanna while Naia began packing, still a bit lost.

"Johanna. My maid," Naia replied, wiping her eyes while Daniel wasn't looking and doing her best to build up the stern sarcastic opinion she preferred to use.

"And…why is she looking at us like we're crazy?" pressed the Katana-wielder as he reached for the undergarments drawer.

Naia slapped his hand away, shoeing him out of the walk-in closet. "I haven't gotten the full story yet, but I'll let you know when I get it."

"No, we don't have time, we're leaving," replied the male teen strictly.

"Yea, I know, that's why she's coming with us," stated Naia.

"Oh, no way!" retorted Daniel, "We are _not_ bringing her!"

"Yes we are," Naia replied. There was a long silence.

…

…

Daniel sighed. "Damn. Why do you have to be so hot?" he grumbled, crossing his arms angrily and glaring out of the window.

Naia smirked. Daniel might not be her ideal gentlemen but he wasn't too bad… _shut up Naia._ She mentally snarled. "Let's go." Slinging the backpack over her shoulder, Naia snatched Johanna's arm and tugged her out of the room. Daniel sidestepped the girl's leading the way down the hall and checking every corner.

"Where did Kris say to meet?" asked Naia as they jogged down the long hall.

Daniel turned to her sharply, almost causing Naia to slam into his chest. _Almost_. He looked at her with cold eyes.

"Kris is gone. He left us."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Stefans Mansion Basement – Stefans Mansion_

 _Private Property – Countryside, New York_

 _15 Minutes Later_

The feeling of being drowned was not one that Lachlan would recommend.

The air being compressed out of your lungs as water is shoved in. It brought chills to Lachlan's neck and sent a burning sensation into his throat. He'd gotten familiar with the constant argument that had become his body. He had thought he'd had it bad with Anguish, always screaming at him, taunting him. But now his body was at war with itself. Half of him was trying to rip itself apart from the inside, while the other half was attempting to shove all of the pain out through blood, sweat and tears.

Blood, sweat and tears. If any one of them were currency he would be rich. When he was younger his father, a first generation immigrant from Ireland, used to tell him how "It take a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get here, Lachlan." He would say, an accent chewing at his tone. "We must strive and do good, and one day our blood will turn to jewels, our sweat will turn to coins and our tears will be crafted of gold." He would say that to Lachlan every night before bed.

 _Well Dad, I hate to tell you this but all I've gotten so far is blood, sweat and tears. No jewels, coins or gold._ He thought pitifully.

 _Oh shut up_ , Anguish growled.

 _I thought that was my line_ , retorted Lachlan.

 _I thought that was my line_ , repeated Anguish in a childish tone _, you say it like I care._

Lachlan glared up at the security camera that was placed in the corner, on Tamashi's side of the cell. He hadn't noticed it since a few days ago, previously more focused on escaping, staying awake and staying alive. It was a classic cliché security camera, a rectangular prism, small scope, blinking red light.

The constant blinking red light. The light that signaled someone was watching. The horrid blinking dot that screamed _Escape! Go ahead! Just try to escape! You won't make it far!_ Mocking Lachlan, making him feel angered. Or maybe he was just going crazy, he wasn't sure. It could be Anguish as well, that was always a possibility. But that stupid red light was the most aggravating thing that had happened. Not the torture. Not the psychological pain. Not being strung up like puppets. It was the light. The constant reminder that Lachlan and Tamashi were going to die here. The light that never stopped—

Lachlan paused. Where was it? He blinked a few times. What the hell had just happened? It was there, and then it had stopped. Gone. The continuously blinking light had stopped blinking. Right in the middle of his thoughts.

"Did you see that?" he croaked, excitement burning inside. The Irish turned his head, something cracking in his neck from lack of movement as he did so.

Tamashi stirred, blinking a few times. "What?" he rasped.

Lachlan took into notice that the Asian's lips had turned a faint frosty blue color. His skin now matched the color that Lachlan's skin—which had considerably paled as well—was on a normal day, which was ghostly compared to Tamashi's olivey skin. Both of the boys' fingers were unfaltering as they twitched in quick spasms.

Lachlan took a minute. He regained his breath, which had shortened in the one sentence he had spoken. He took a few shaky breaths, finally gaining some control. "The light turned off…" he explained, gasping for air by the time the sentence finished.

Tamashi dragged his eyes over to the camera, ever so slightly tipping his head upwards towards the camera. He hummed in agreement.

Lachlan tried to move. His energy levels were…well, one could say he was a car that had been running on fumes for the past 50 miles. Every part of him had become lightweight, the pain had seemingly vanished.

"Do…you think…" he stopped, energy dropping a few more notches, black danced at the edge of his vision. "Think…we're…gonna…." He couldn't finish, but he assumed Tamashi knew the answer.

"Mhm…" replied Tamashi weakly. "At least…if we do…die…you can say…you had a…girlfriend…"

"Who…?" asked Lachlan quietly, eyebrow twitching in confusion.

"That…girl…" said the Asian.

Lachlan attempted a laugh, but it came out as sort of a choke. "Didn't even…need a…" he paused, a final pang of pain running through his chest, "Pick up line…" he finished. After that pang Lachlan suddenly felt lightweight.

Tamashi coughed, "Thank God…"

Lachlan was helpless as more blackness consumed his eyesight. He then realized that it wasn'tjust _blackness_. It wasn't black, it was deeper than black. It was death. Death was tugging his eyelids and carving away at his vision.

Vaguely he heard the door click unlocked. But he was losing his focus and his consciousness, eyes fluttering. And with a final ragged breath he felt a darkness begin to overwhelm him. A darkness he knew he wouldn't return from.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

Tamashi's eyes snapped open when the door unlocked, energy levels spiking briefly. _No! Die! Die!_ He screamed at himself. He couldn't take any more of this torture. He didn't want to see Aeron's beautiful but cruel face anymore, he didn't want to see Killer and he didn't want to see any more of those terrible Hydra masks that every single one of them wore.

So when a brown haired teenager appeared at the door, he would easily admit that he was surprised.

"Yea, Phantom, I found them!" she shouted. She entered the room, but recoiled. Her nose crinkled, and she brought her hand up to it. _Oh right_ , Tamashi realized, _we must smell terrible_.

"Who…?" he trailed.

"It's about damn time!" another female voice cheered. The noise brought pain to Tamashi's head. A blonde haired girl poked her head in. "The last one I opened was a…" she frowned. "Duck?" another pause. "Man? Thing?"

The first girl gagged briefly, she let out a cough, "Aw, man, they smell terrible."

"No kidding, Knight," 'Phantom' snapped.

"Ready to catch them?" inquired 'Knight'.

 _Catch them?_ Tamashi was exhausted and his brain wasn't functioning correctly, but somehow 'catch them' didn't sit well with him.

"Got it," replied Phantom. She put her hand up, pointing it at Tamashi. Tamashi didn't feel any difference, but when Knight began floating into the air he tried not to choke mid-swallow. Knight floated upwards, on an invisible escalator, until she was eyelevel with Tamashi. And then she was kneeling, knees aligned with Tamashi's eyes. Tamashi looked up at her, still not having enough energy to move.

And then Knight stuck her hand _into_ the ceiling. Not brushing it, or pressing against it, but sticking her hand _into_ it. She moved her hand around a bit and suddenly a loud click sounded. Chain unraveled out of the small hole it emerged from in the cement and Tamashi felt himself swiftly lowering. Phantom's other hand shot out and Tamashi hit something that he couldn't see. He was now laying on his back, laying on _nothing_.

Phantom lowered her hand and with it Tamashi went until his back touched the cold cement floor, covered in dried blood. He hissed when his skin made contact, a burning sensation running through his entire body. The Asian blinked away tears and dragged his eyes over to Knight, who was floating through the air (matching Phantom's hand) towards Lachlan. She repeated and Lachlan was lowered to the ground. When he didn't wince, or cringe, or hiss, or shriek, Tamashi felt his heart race.

While Phantom dropped Knight and ran over to Tamashi, Knight landed next to Lachlan. She checked him over, pressing her fingers to his neck. "Aw crap. He's not breathing." She growled.

"What…?" Tamashi demanded, eyes widening. He let out a shout as Phantom lifted his head onto her lap, agony ricocheted through his neck and spine. Knight didn't answer, instead she began resuscitating him. Her lips met Lachlan's bloodied ones as she blew air into his lungs and then released, shoving consecutively onto his chest. Tamashi watched in interest and fear. He couldn't lose Lachlan, not after all they had been through.

Knight repeated the cycle. Tamashi uncontrollably felt his tears well up, angering him because now Lachlan and Knight were a blurry blob of color. He blinked furiously, clearing the sight and saw Knight smacking Lachlan's chest once again. And she repeated, giving air to his lungs, and then hitting his chest with her fists. Air. Fists. Air. Fis—

Lachlan let out a shocked gasp, sitting bolt upright. He coughed uncontrollably, choking and hacking. He was grabbing at Knight, who looked slightly surprised but relieved. Lachlan's eyes were wide and he gasped a few more times. Tamashi felt all of the tension release from his muscles and he let out a ragged breath of relief.

"Yea, come on, just breathe. It's not that hard," Knight commanded as Lachlan began relaxing.

"Damn. For a minute there I thought all of that searching was gonna be for nothing," sighed Phantom. _Guess that makes me 'nothing_ ', thought Tamashi sarcastically. "Not to cut this short, but we gotta go."

Phantom stood up and walked around until she was crouching above Tamashi's head. She grabbed under his arms, and the Asian tensed uncontrollably, fist snapping into formation and nails burrowing into his own palm.

"Hey, easy One Arm. Geez," Phantom urged, beginning to pull him up to his feet. She slung his one arm over her shoulders and the two turned, watching as Knight pulled a shaky Lachlan to his feet. Lachlan's eyes were the size of golf balls and he looked ready to pass out, hands shaking.

While Tamashi and Phantom were no more than an inch in difference, Lachlan was a good length taller than Knight, but she was strong and didn't seem bothered by it. The group began walking—well, Phantom and Knight were walking, anyways. Tamashi was focusing on not putting any weight on his right foot, which still had a screw stuck in it.—out of the cell and into the hallway.

The hallways were well decorated, wooden floors, aged glass windows, vases of flowers, paintings, furnished wood doors.

"Who are you?" Lachlan demanded, his voice was quiet and he was still taking in long drawn out breaths.

"My name is Marie," Phantom announced as they stumbled along. "But you can call me Phantom."

"Skylier," added Knight, readjusting her grip on the Irish born. "But I'm addressed as Black Knight."

The group turned a corner and caught sight of an easily recognized girl fighting a swarm of females at the end of the hallway. Pat kicked and jabbed at them but didn't throw anything fatal, although she seemed very tempted.

"Back off fangirls!" she growled, elbowing a pretty redhead. The girls swarmed around her, clawing at her and glaring with blank eyes. Pat finished them off swiftly however, sweep kicking a few before chopping two in the side of their heads, she jabbed a few more and punched the last few to the ground.

"Death!" called Marie.

Pat's gaze snapped over to Marie, Skylier, Tamashi and Lachlan, a stern and determined look on her face. Her eyes brightened when they met Tamashi's and she gave a real _genuine_ smile. "Leprechaun! Husband!" she cried, trotting over to them. She planted a kiss on both of the boys foreheads. "Wow you both taste like shit. Thanks for that." She said, wiping her mouth and smirking.

Tamashi let loose a weak smile while Lachlan grinned a bit. All the walking had been exhausting and Tamashi felt that his entire body had been weakened. He assumed Lachlan would be feeling the same, but his brush with death must've changed his energy levels a bit, because Lachlan seemed more energetic than before.

"Pat?" inquired Lachlan curiously. "Death?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Aw yea, well, I figured if you all got cool codenames," Pat rolled her eyes, beaming. "I deserved one to."

"Where is everyone?" all eyes turned to Tamashi. The Asian could feel the air thinning, and his breaths had become noticeably faster paced. He tried catching a hold of it, but his chest tightening every time he got a relatively good hold. He closed his eyes and opened them back up reluctantly.

"Well," Pat said slowly, she frowned, looking over Tamashi before continuing. "When we arrived everyone was gone. They must've found out we were coming earlier than expected. You're in Stefans Mansion, he's one of the rich guys from the party. Kris Stefans. You talked to him," she gestured to Lachlan. "He's the guy who's running the Syndicate. He also left us all of those chicks as a goodbye gift. Oh, and FYI, if you didn't notice, he's got the same last name as the guy who ripped off your arm," she said, bringing her gaze back on Tamashi, who was beginning to place more of his weight on Marie.

"So…basically….we all…hate him…" muttered Tamashi tiredly.

"Crudely? Yes," nodded Pat. "Hold on boys, I'll call Vic and get him to gather up S.H.I.E.L.D."

Tamashi managed to bob his head a few times before his old friend Unconsciousness returned and dragged him back under.

 **Okay hi guys! Please read all of this because it is very** **important!**

 **To clear things up. What just happened in this chapter? Well, Kris abandoned the syndicate, Aeron and Killer left with Kris. Naia is in a small group with Daniel and Johanna (I ship Danaia forever!). Naia now knows that Kris has some sort of mind control. Lachlan died but was brought back by the Phasing Black Knight and her friend the Telekinesis Using Phantom. Lachlan and Tamashi were rescued by the two. Marie (Phantom) and Skylier (Knight) work for Death AKA Pat.**

 **So I actually have the first scene of the next chapter already written…XD I got a bit excited and I was going to add it to this chapter but I kept writing and writing and I figured it might be a bit long for one chapter because I've already hit 4,081 words which I believe is my second (just barely below first) longest chapter. If I had kept going we would've hit 5,000+ and that's a bit much. This however means that I will be updating—hopefully—very quickly tomorrow. Expect an early chapter. :)**

 **ALSO! THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT! MUST ANSWER: Do you guys think I should make a forum instead of putting up all of these polls and super long ANs? Let me know! **

**Till next time!**

 **-AG**


	21. The Photograph

Chapter 18-

 **Alrighty! Yea, yea, I know it was definitely not early but it's very long to make up for that. Turns out I had a relatively busy day yesterday and couldn't fit in an update. So this chapter finished at 4000+ words. :D Yay!**

 **So, small announcement, the next part of this story (Part 2)** _ **might**_ **be a separate story. Just a fair warning. If it is I will announce in this story when its posted, otherwise follow me so you can see when it's posted. I'm getting really excited but school starts in a week so updates might become less frequent with homework and everything, just a fair warning.**

 **Anyways, on happier thoughts, let's get rid of this bad news. On the bright side, the originally two last chapters ended up so short that I combined them into one which means there's 1 CHAPTER LEFT OF PART 1!**

 **Now that that's settled.**

 **Shall we?**

 _Sanctum Sanctorum_

 _177A Bleecker Street – New York City_

"Mr. Strange, you know we wouldn't come if this wasn't an emergency," Annaleise sighed, trying not to let her annoyance peek out. The Challengers—Piper, Spencer, Eleanor, Annaleise, Lana, Daedre and Victor—had gathered in the Sorcerer Supreme's Mansion for answers.

"Hmm, indeed," the Sorcerer Supreme himself, Doctor Strange, said with a sharp tone. He stroked his beard as he floated a few feet above the floor, legs crossed. "How exactly _did_ you locate me?"

"Daniel Rand recommended you," explained Eleanor, tilting her head.

"Ah…Rand…" Doctor Strange sighed. "That man can be quite a nuisance on occasions like this."

"Look, let's cut to the chase, will you help us or not?" Victor demanded, although his tone wasn't mean or forceful, it was more 'let's get to the point'.

"What was it you needed?" inquired the magician. He raised an eyebrow but continued to hover, lightly moving up and down.

"Oh my—" Spencer rubbed his temples. "For the _fiftieth_ time! We need a body. No soul. Just the body. Something we can use to put a soul in. A vessel." He then muttered, "We _were_ just gonna go get some dude of the streets, but apparently 'that's not legal'." Although the statement was mainly to himself.

"A vessel?" Doctor Strange hummed. "Why do you children need a vessel? What chaos does S.H.I.E.L.D. need an empty vessel to create?" the salt and pepper haired man's forehead creased as he scowled slightly, stroking his beard vigorously as he seemingly went over a long list of possibilities.

"A friend passed away. We're not letting him die," replied Piper simply.

"When it is time for someone to pass, you should allow them to take that voyage," urged the Doctor.

"Not gonna happen. He was too young," Spencer snapped back, glaring and crossing his arms.

"And what was the young man's name?" after seeing the untrusting expressions of the teens, Doctor Strange clarified. "I will not speak it to those of bad being. Have trust in me, children."

"Drew Pond," said Annaleise quickly, biting her lip afterwards. The Challengers nodded in agreement.

Doctor Strange paused. He tilted his head, almost as if he was listening for something, and then returned his attention to the team. "You must be mistaken," he said lowly. "I have names to all souls in the Spiritual Plain. None of them took the name of Drew Pond in this realm."

The team froze in shock.

"Th—that can't be," Lana argued, "I sensed his soul earlier this morning. It was right there. I had it, I—I was getting ready to transport it."

"Wh—what? N—no that's impossible," Annaleise muttered.

Spencer growled, "If this is some kind of sick joke then I suggest you cough it up, Old Man."

"This isn't a good time for jokes," agreed Victor.

Daedre narrowed his eyes, "Your humanly custom is not humorous. The death of our comrade is not something to be associated with amusement."

"Not funny," Eleanor snapped, crossing her arms and sending a strong glare at the Doctor.

Piper stared at him in surprise, not sure how to react. But her Comm. Link beeped, forcing her out of her state of shock. She reached up and tapped the device, in its place in her ear. "Sir?" Piper asked. Annaleise practically shouted as Piper collapsed to her knees, eyes wide and teary as she bit back a sob.

"Siren?" Eleanor questioned in a worried tone.

""Ren, you okay?" Spencer asked.

Annaleise barely caught Piper's words as they slipped from her lips and dissipated into the air.

"They did it…they found them…"

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Stefans Mansion_

 _Private Property – Countryside, New York_

 _Half an Hour Later_

Piper's feet scrambled on the polished wood floor as she swerved around a corner and practically trampled two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. She heard solid thumps as Spencer and Eleanor raced directly behind her. Farther back down the hall, poor Annaleise, Daedre and Lana were scampering after the trio, taken off guard by the sudden sprinting.

Piper's eyes were wide with excitement and the next corner nearly sent her flying face first to the floor. Luckily she managed to duck and roll before popping back up onto her feet and continuing down the hall, all the while earning quite a few surprised looks from a variety of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and scientists.

Where was she? Well she was in Stefans Mansion. Stefans. As in _Kris_ Stefans. The man she had _willingly_ danced and spoken with. He was responsible for Spencer's silence, forcing Eleanor to grow up. He was responsible for Lachlan and Tamashi's kidnapping. He was responsible for Drew's death. And now, as she sprinted through Stefans Mansion, she didn't care. She didn't care about any of it. Because for once in her life things were looking up.

Siren turned the final corner. The last corner on the directions Coulson had given her. And there, leaning against one of the walls, was Tamashi and Lachlan. The two boys looked terrible. Gashes swarmed their shirtless chests, and Piper assumed their backs matched. Bruising had formed across Lachlan's left jawline and the right side of Tamashi's forehead was slightly black and blue. Both were paler than she thought possible, sweating profusely and getting prepared to be raised onto gurneys by S.H.I.E.L.D. doctors. Pat stood a few feet away, chatting with two girls that Piper recognized from Pat and Victor's rescue team. Victor was speaking with Coulson and his team who stood in the opposite corner.

Lachlan and Piper met eyes and the boy's gaze brightened considerably. Piper stumbled over to the two wounded heroes; sobbing pathetically and feeling a smile take over her face. She dropped to her knees and laughed a bit, wiping away a couple stray tears as she fumbled over to her friends.

Tamashi and Lachlan gave weak smirks, obviously trying their very hardest not to shout as Piper leaned over and hugged them gently one at a time. She tried not to drown the boys in her tears as she bawled on them, happy sobs hurting her chest as she did.

Spencer kneeled on Tamashi's other side while Eleanor took Lachlan's and Piper squatted in the middle of the two beaten heroes. It was hugs all around until the doctors commanded them to stop or internal bleeding might become an issue. Daedre, Annaleise and Lana came a few minutes later, crowding around and annoying the doctors and nurses just that much more.

Piper stood up as Lachlan and Tamashi were raised onto stretchers that then unfolded to full height. They were wheeled out of the room, but the Challengers stood by their sides as they walked, a small herd of teenagers following the doctors, nurses and wounded boys.

Lachlan grabbed her hand as they moved down the hall and gestured for her to come a bit closer. Piper brought her head down to his level and listened closely as he rasped out: "Where's Drew?" Piper's heart sank.

Spencer glanced at Piper from Tamashi's other side, and Tamashi perked up a bit as well, looking at Piper for an answer. Eleanor looked at her feet but didn't say anything.

"He…" she paused when someone tapped her shoulder. The Songbird turned around to see Daedre with a warning expression.

"Do not tell him," whispered Daedre into her her ear. It was loud enough for Piper to hear, but quiet enough that Lachlan and Tamashi were left wondering. "Not now. It is not respectful to burden a wounded soldier with a tragedy such as that."

Piper nodded and turned back to Lachlan and Tamashi. She smiled what she hoped was a convincing smile and said carefully, "He's recovering back at the Playground."

Lachlan relaxed at that, a weakened smile working its way onto his face. "I knew you could do it, man." He said happily, rugged voice betraying him and making the last syllable break. Piper looked at him with sad eyes, feeling painfully as her heart shattered.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Playground Infirmary – The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

Simmons glanced at Fitz before turning over to Coulson with pitiful eyes.

She, Fitz, Coulson, May, Skye, Hunter, Bobbi, Mack and Lana had gathered in a private viewing room, one of the two positioned next to Lachlan and Tamashi's hospital room. The first was being occupied by the Challengers and contained a window into the hospital room. The room Simmons was in had a one way wall, so she and the rest of Coulson's team could see in but Tamashi and Lachlan couldn't see back out.

"Alrighty," she began, flipping a page clipped onto the clipboard she held. " The boys have suffered countless injuries and while it's high possibility that they are going to survive, I suggest we keep an eye on them for at least the next month." Frowns spread across the room.

"They suffered from Hypovolemic Shock, Hypovolemia, uncountable lacerations and we've also found signs of whipping." Skye's eyes widened in terror as Simmons read down the list. "Traces of water in their otherwise parched throats is a symptom of recent drowning." Fitz stared at the floor in deep thought. "There are electrical conflagrations and their hands have only recently stopped shaking." Hunter swapped his weight back and forth from one foot to the other, looking at Bobbi with a disturbed gaze. "There's slight pyrexia probably due to fever, we removed a nail from Tamashi's foot, Tamashi's metal arm has been detached predictably by means of force, and Agent Coren reported that Lachlan died once while being rescued."

Coulson froze, snapping his gaze up to Simmons. She returned a worried look.

"Is that all?" asked Hunter sarcastically, although the question seemed to be relatively serious. He wore a distressed expression.

"They're both currently on anesthetics but they'll most likely be traumatized by the time they wake back up," finished the British biochemist.

"They gonna need therapy?" inquired Mack curiously.

"Extensive therapy, yes," nodded Lana sadly.

"Which is fine," everyone turned in a startled manor to Pat, who was leaning on the doorframe, arms crossed, located behind Hunter and Bobbi.

Bobbi gaped, "How did you—"

"Find your secret hidden room thingy?" Pat interrupted, "Well my Unicorn Senses told me to come this way so I did and bam! I found this place." Her gaze hardened. "On more serious business, as I was going to say: it's fine if they need to go through therapy. We'll be there to help them. I don't know if you noticed but we Challengers have been through Hell and back. It isn't easy to take any of us down," she paused, gesturing to Lachlan and Tamashi. "Exhibit A." She turned back, "I heard what you were talking about earlier."

"The symptoms?" Simmons asked with raised eyebrows.

"No. You wouldn't know," retorted Pat. Simmons frowned in frustration. "It was just Mr. Business Suit," she glared at Coulson, "and Madame Ninja." And then May. "Of course I was there, hiding in a place that shall remain secretive. Anyways, back to the point, I heard your little murder conversation."

"Murder?" Simmons asked, turning to Coulson.

"Sir?" Bobbi turned to Coulson for an explanation.

"May, what the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?" demanded Hunter.

"You wanted to _kill_ them," Pat spat at the two older agents. May glared back at her but Coulson remained stern faced.

"That's not true," May retorted.

"Really? Cuz last time I checked, when someone says," Pat put on a ridiculous tone, "'we should be prepared to kill them, Phil' it means they want to get someone killed," she snapped back. Coulson glanced up at her. "Yea! I'm talkin to you _Phil!_ " she replied, saying 'Phil' in the same ridiculous tone she had used on it the last time.

"It was a last resort. We were only preparing for the worst," May persuaded strictly.

"You don't just give up on people," Pat growled. Her eyes widened in one jerky motion and she let out a loud laugh, "That's insane! Only insane people do that!"

"Anyone else feeling a bit uncomfortable all of the sudden?" Hunter asked, looking around, his hand inching towards the gun holstered at his leg.

"Haha. Very funny," Pat retorted, snapping back into seriousness, her laughing ceasing like someone had killed it right then and there. She narrowed her eyes and scowled at Coulson and May with a gaze so murderous it could belong to a carnivorous beast. "What I'm trying to say," she hissed, "Is that you are _not_ insane and therefore you do _not_ have the right to kill people."

Pat's eyes darkened and stared directly in May's direction. "Because if you even _try_ to hurt any of them, I will _kill_ you."

Simmons swallowed hard and watched fearfully as Pat swept her gaze over the room. Her features softened as she spoke.

"Alright, well, it was a pleasure speaking with all of you. As Lach would say, 'Toodles'!" she smiled and spun around, walking away from the room.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

Eleanor gazed sadly into the hospital room. Piper, Spencer and Annaleise had left to go get dinner. Eleanor wasn't hungry. Lana had gone to go speak with Coulson. Eleanor couldn't speak. Daedre had exited to go train for a bit. Eleanor couldn't _move_. Pat had disappeared with her mini team. Eleanor just wanted to be alone.

She'd done her best in the past few days. She'd been the happy-go-lucky little girl that everyone needed her to be. Now Lachlan and Tamashi were back and Eleanor didn't have anything to worry about. Not now anyways. She had found the perfect moment. Alone, where no one could worry about her or make her feel guilty. So she cried. But some instinct inside of her took over and her sobs came out silently, shaking her body and making her chest hurt. She tensed, trying to make it stop.

"It is unhealthy to hold in your tears."

Eleanor jerked with surprise. Startled, she spun around to see Daedre looking down at her with curious yellow eyes.

"S—sorry," she sputtered, wiping her eyes.

"Do not apologize," ordered Daedre, "It is weak to apologize to the enemy." He smirked a bit, referencing his previous alignment.

Eleanor gave a small smile and peered back into the hospital room.

"I remember a time back when I was on my home planet," Daedre started, gazing into the room with her.

"Fe'Tug?" asked Eleanor, keeping her gaze fixed on the room's two occupants.

"Indeed," nodded Daedre. "There is a rather large war proceeding there as we speak."

"Who are you fighting?" Eleanor inquired curiously.

"My people, the Derga, they are most…how to put it? They strive for _peace_ , but they achieve it through war. My people are waging war against everyone."

" _Everyone_?" Eleanor repeated in amazement. Daedre smiled kindly and nodded. "But…isn't that hard?"

"Of course, but we are straying from the point," the alien smiled, "When I first arrived on your planet, Terra, or Earth as you call it, it was not by choice."

"Then how did you get here?" demanded Eleanor.

"Crash landing," a sad look overtook Daedre's gaze. "I was part of a task force that was being transported to Earth in order to fully scout the planet. We ran into some…issues on the way here."

"Like what?"

"A separate alien force, a hostile species known as the Chovubrizi, attacked my force and killed my men," Daedre explained, anger biting at his tone. He turned and met Eleanor's eyes. "I watched as my cousin died a few feet away from me when his ship was blown to smithereens. I heard his final screams as they echoed through my intercom. I know the pain you feel, Eleanor, and I would like to help you through it."

Daedre knelt down to one knee, looking into Eleanor's eyes directly. Eleanor bit her lip, quite literally biting back her tears.

"It is like a pain, correct?" asked Daedre.

"Mhm," Eleanor nodded, sniffling a few times, on the brink of tears.

"They say that the best way to stop pain is to apply pressure to the wound," the alien informed. "But in this case, I assume it would be best for you to let out your emotions. An adolescent like yourself is not equipped to bare such stress."

Eleanor opened her mouth for a split second, trying to shoot out a retort on the 'adolescent' comment, but as soon as she stopped biting her lip everything came pouring out at once. She bawled loudly, wrapping her arms around Daedre's neck. Daedre froze, eyes widened in surprise. He wrapped his arms around her, awkwardly patting her back.

"Er—um—there there…" he said fumblingly. "It is—erm—it is okay…"

Eleanor released after a good long period of crying. "Hey, um, Daedre?" she said shakily. Daedre gave her a questioning look, trying not to comment on how she had gotten her emotions all over his shoulder.

"It's good to have you back on our side."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

No one dared to interrupt the woman and two men as they marched down the corridor of the S.H.I.E.L.D. base and into the hospital room that belonged to two injured heroes. Once the group entered they were met by the eyes of almost all of the female Challengers.

Lana was just exiting as the trio entered, and sent one more look before leaving the room and continuing down the hall. Skylier was leaning on a wall, her gaze hardening as the woman and two men entered the room. Marie was sitting in a chair next to Tamashi's bed, her and Knight having been organized as body guards. Annaleise was standing in between the two boys, introducing herself while Pat, who had also just recently entered, was sitting on the one table (from which Marie had stolen the chair) in the hospital room. The boys themselves looked up with worried glances that seemed slightly unfocused probably due to the medication they had been given.

"Agent Maria Hill," the woman introduced. "Explain."

Confused glances spread around the room like a wildfire.

Hill held out her hand and one of the men pulled out an electronic tablet, placing it in the higher ranking officer's outstretched hand. Hill turned her gaze to the tablet, flicking the screen and then flipping it around. She showed them a single photo.

The boys' eyes widened in horror and the girls looked at each other worriedly.

"Explain," Hill repeated strictly. However both of the injured remained silent. "Now." She growled, with more authority in that one word than an entire police force had in a year.

Lachlan's eyes darkened while Tamashi's eyes hardened.

"Explain this and prove your loyalties to S.H.I.E.L.D.!" Hill shouted angrily, jerking the photo at them. "If you do not respond, Director Coulson has given me the authority to bring you both into questioning." She threatened. The woman's voice wasn't loud but it carried well in the small room, striking fear into a good portion of the room's occupants. "I like you two, so I highly advise you to answer."

The boys looked at each other and then back at Hill. Tamashi reluctantly opened his mouth to speak.

"What the _hell_ is your problem?!" Marie demanded, standing up suddenly, chair screeching backwards.

Hill furrowed her eyebrows. She wasn't sure if she should be proud of the girl's courage or furious at her disrespect to a higher ranking agent.

"How could you accuse them of betraying S.H.I.E.L.D.?!" Skylier growled, standing up off of the wall.

"These are my orders," Hill replied strictly.

Skylier bristled "Are you _kidding_ me?!"

"They just spent 3 and half _weeks_ of torture _and_ questioning and didn't give up a single _word!_ " Annaleise snarled.

"Why would they protect S.H.I.E.L.D. if they are—" Pat paused, looking over the picture again. "Whatever the hell is in that picture?!"

"Boys, either you respond or you're going to be put under _extremely_ close watch by S.H.I.E.L.D." Hill informed the two boys, who's eyes were darting around the room to all of the defensive girls.

"You can't!" growled Marie, instinctively standing protectively over the Asian boy at her side.

"Agent Peters, stand down," commanded Hill, reaching ever so slowly for the I.C.E.R. at her belt.

"Make her! I dare you!" Skylier challenged, bringing up her fists defensively. Marie matched her pose in agreement, holding up her open hands, ready to use her powers at any given moment.

"Stand down," Hill glared, finding in unbelievable that these children were challenging her authority.

"We don't take orders from you," Annaleise informed with a rebellious gaze as she pulled out the katana that was still strapped to her back.

"If you continue with this behavior, it will result in the revoking of your S.H.I.E.L.D. badges," Hill threatened, pulling out her gun fully and hearing as the two men behind her did the same.

"Well then," Pat grinned insanely, unsheathing her knives. "It's a good thing none of us work for S.H.I.E.L.D."

There was a tense silence as Maria Hill swept her gaze over the room. Agent Coren was right. She wasn't an agent at all. None of them were. Marie and Skylier worked for Pat and Pat worked for Pat as well. Annaleise was an NYPD officer, not a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Much to her amazement, Hill realized she had no authority here.

She holstered her gun in one swift move. "I'll be holding the four of you responsible for anyone that these two injure or kill." She announced, glaring daggers at the two boys, who both looked on edge but slightly less confused.

Pat opened her mouth a bit, ready to snap out a quip, Hill assumed. But Pat obviously figured she shouldn't push her luck and instead said, "Sounds good to me."

Hill turned and exited the room.

As soon as she was gone Pat sheathed her knives and turned to the girls. "What a bitch."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Stefans Mansion_

 _Private Property – Countryside, New York_

 _15 Minutes Earlier_

Coulson swept his gaze over the Stefans Mansion living room. With any luck this place could be turned into a high end functioning S.H.I.E.L.D. base. Talbot would probably catch on and have it destroyed. He furrowed his eyebrows and crossed his arms thoughtfully, trying to decide if he really had the ability to trick Talbot.

"Sir?"

Coulson pulled a device out of his pocket, tapping it once. "What is it Valentine?"

"Um," Victor said through a static-filled Comm. Link. "You're gonna want to see this."

Coulson turned and looked at May, "Get it cleaned up up here." May nodded and Coulson walked away, opening the door to the basement. He trotted down the the stairs, keeping his stern look intact as he did so. The basement was clean for the most part and consisted of a long steel corridor with doors branching off on both sides. Tamashi and Lachlan's doors was opened because S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were inspecting it thoroughly. The other doors had housed a variety of rooms: cells, labs, closets. They'd all been cleaned out or were in the process of being cleaned out. Victor and Hunter had been put in charge of that task and were currently working their way down the line.

Coulson spotted a second opened door and entered it without hesitation. Once inside he met eyes with Victor and then Hunter and finally brought his eyes to what lay ahead of them. Two metal tables were placed in the back of the room. On the tables were two figures, both male and dressed in nothing but boxers.

The first was skinny, pale and almost 6 foot, just a few inches below if Coulson had to guess. A dragon tattoo spiraled its way up the boy's arm. The boy's hair was short on the sides and curlier on the top, in a shade of dark brown. The second had an olivey complexion; he was shorter but only by an inch at most. He sported choppy black hair with bangs that skimmed his eyes and complimented his round features. Over all?

Coulson was looking at two almost exact copies of Lachlan and Tamashi.

"We took a picture and sent it to Agent Hill," Victor announced and Coulson nodded in approval.

"Get them back to the Playground," Coulson ordered rather reluctantly. We should—"

And then their eyes opened.

 **DUN DUN DUN! SO MANY CLIFFHANGERS AND TENSE MOMENTS LATELY! TONS OF STUFF HAPPENED! LETS REVIEW, SHALL WE?!**

 **So, in that first scene, way back up there with Doctor Strange, it was revealed that—what's this?!—Drew is NOT in the spiritual plain! What in the world could that mean?! And then, OH MY GOSH, our lovely boys were reunited with the rest of the team! HOORAY! And Daedre and Eleanor shared an adorable-but heart jerking- little conversation about Daedre's past.**

 **But things only lasted for a short bit when PAT ACCUSED S.H.I.E.L.D. OF WANTING TO KILL TAMASHI AND LACHLAN?! What is that all about and was the accusation even true?! (Don't know about you guys but I really do not want to mess with Pat when she's in a mood like she was in that scene) Next, a cameo appearance by Agent Maria Hill who brought a photograph of—what was it of?—and threatened the two ex-prisoners. Luckily the girls were there to save them (girl power! XD) And finally the photograph's contents were revealed to be…**

 **What was the photo of ? Let me know what you think! :D**

 **Till next time!**

 ***There's only 1 MORE CHAPTER GUYS! AHHH!***

 **-AG**

 **Ps. I'm gonna try to post the epilogue of Part 1 (the final chapter) later on today otherwise tomorrow for sure. :)**


	22. Epilogue

Chapter 19 – (Part 1 Epilogue) –

 **Epilogue time! So this chapter will be a bit shorter and it'll tie up some loose ends and raise some excitement for Part 2. Hope everyone enjoys. :)**

 **Also, I will be posting all of the information on Part 2 in a chapter after this one. :)**

 **Without further ado, shall we?**

 _Unknown Location_

Kris leaned forwards on the leather office chair, elbows on desk, chin rested on tensed white knuckles. He narrowed his eyes in frustration, scanning his eyes over the pictures laid out over the desk.

"I am _not_ impressed," the man stated, glaring down at the photos.

Killer rolled her eyes, scoffing, "Well, _you_ could get off your lazy—"

"Killer," Aeron hissed. "You do _not_ use a sailor's tongue when you are in my presence." She rebuked, treating herself as if she was a queen. Kris wouldn't be surprised if one day she was.

"Oh _please_ , Aeron, you're being so strict with her," he uttered, the corner of his lips tugging upwards in a rebellious—but unnoticeably fake—smirk as he gazed playfully at his girlfriend.

Aeron grumbled, "You both are childish."

Kris chuckled, returning his stony look to the photos. "So these are the options? The _entire_ list of possible candidates?"

"Indeed," nodded Aeron. "A list of the most powerful people in the US, all possible candidates for the New Syndicate."

Kris sighed, reading out the first few names, his judgmental side peeking out quite a bit, "Arthur Perív: much too bulky, he wouldn't even _fit_ through the front door. Jonathan Danfor: oh my—is he a man or a gorilla? All of that hair!" he recoiled in disgust, flipping the page swiftly to the next candidate, "Susanne Cecile: she has so many piercings! I don't know how she could possibly make it through the metal detector at the airport." He shook his head in a confused manor. The next photo stopped him in his tracks, "Kyle Sanders: what—how old is he?! Twelve?!"

"Kris!" Aeron gaped, "He's seventeen."

"Oh dear…" Kris frowned, turning the picture to try to see if he could get a better angle. He continued on. "Christina Xavier. Snakes for hair?" Kris just sighed. "I'll need a new list."

"What?" Killer demanded angrily.

"A. New. List." Kris clarified, staring at her challengingly. Killer looked away first, her owl-like eyes narrowing in aggravation.

"Alright," Aeron sighed, "Killer can get right on that." Killer scrunched up her nose defiantly.

"Kris, we should go take care of your hair," Aeron urged, we can't stay here forever and we should be moving by night."

"Agreed," nodded Kris. He stood up and made his way to the bathroom. The cottage house they were staying in wasn't meant to house people for very long. It was primarily a pit stop, to be used if ever Kris needed it (such as today). It was stocked relatively well, canned foods and all that.

Kris grabbed a towel, laying it over his shoulders carefully. He heard the door open and shut as Killer left and his eyes flickered to Aeron through the mirror as she entered. She opened one of the drawers and pulled out a pair of scissors and a comb.

Carefully combing through his wavy auburn hair, she cut into it and then again. Again. Again. Soon hair was sprawled around the floor at his feet and the back of his neck was itching with loose strands that had fallen down his collar.

"Done," she announced.

Kris brought his hands up, shaking them through his now short auburn hair. He gazed into the mirror. His cheekbones were certainly more noticeable without the longer hair framing his face. Aeron reached back into the drawer and pulled out a tube of hair dye.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she clarified.

"Of course," Kris nodded determinedly. "S.H.I.E.L.D. now knows that I was assisting the Syndicate and so, even if I wasn't okay with the change, it's necessary."

The dye was cold on his scalp. It was fast working dye and it didn't take long before Kris was ordered to take a shower and rinse off the hair clippings and finish the dying process. The shower was brief and the warm water was short lived. Kris toweled off, steam now filling the sealed off bathroom. He got redressed in a new maroon button up and black pants.

"You can come in," he called as he opened the door. The newly appareled man glanced at the mirror, but it was blocked out by the steam from the shower. He heard dishes clatter and figured Aeron must've gotten herself some dinner, or a snack, while Kris had showered.

"Wow," Aeron said as she appeared in the doorway. "Sexy." She stated.

Kris heard a fake puking noise in the background and spotted Killer laying on the couch in a bored manor. "Get a room!" she cawed.

Aeron glared in Killer's general direction and turned back to Kris. "It looks good."

Kris turned, beginning to wipe away at the steam on the mirror with his palm. Small droplets of condensation remained speckled over his reflection but other than that the picture was pretty clear. Kris had to admit, he didn't look half as bad as he thought he would. His wavy auburn hair had been darkened to black. It was admittedly messy, but Kris didn't think it was bed-head messy, so much as tousled.

"Kris?" Aeron asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"Aeron," he replied.

She tilted her head ever so slightly, "Why did you abandon the children?"

"I needed an escape plan," Kris replied, playing around with his newly styled hair.

"An escape plan?" she inquired. "After all of that work? Picking out each one, hunting them down, and you abandon them? Interesting strategy."

"They were _children_ ," Kris responded, a bit harsher than he intended. He raised his eyebrows and looked at her with a childish gaze to soften the tone. "That was only my first attempt. There will be more to come." The pictures from earlier came to mind. "For now, we live up to our title, and stay in the shadows."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _New York Train Station_

Naia readjusted her backpack as she entered the train car. Johanna followed behind her, and Daniel after Johanna. They chose a place near the back of the train car, a comfortable section of seats. Naia sat by the window, Daniel sat down at her right side. Johanna sat across the aisle, placing the backpacks in the seat next to her.

Naia gazed out the window carelessly.

"Dearie?"

Naia looked up with a raised eyebrow. A little old woman was looking down at her with a friendly expression.

"Your husband wouldn't mind giving me a hand with my bags, would he?" the old lady requested. Daniel stared at the woman with an annoyed disgusted look.

"Uh—he's not my—er—yea, he can do that," Naia stammered, elbowing Daniel. Johanna peered over at them from across the aisle. Daniel stood up and grabbed the woman's bag, taking it back a few seats to the first empty seat he came across and lifting it up into the luggage compartment. Naia looked up and saw that the woman was looking back down at her. She looked back away, trying to hide her face beneath the baseball cap that Daniel had provided to all three of them so they could hide their faces from the law.

"Are you from Italy?" the woman suddenly asked.

Naia faltered a bit, "Yes…"

"Parma, Italy, by a chance?" the woman pressed.

"Um, yes, I believe so," nodded Naia. She didn't remember much of her past and kind of preferred it that way. She had a new life now and that was the one she was happy with.

The woman gave a pleasant smile, "You look a lot like my old friend, Ricardo Cardillo."

Daniel had returned by now and had a raised eyebrow, looking between the woman and Naia.

"C—Cardillo?" stuttered Naia.

The woman nodded, "Ricardo and his wife Lina. They had two daughters if I remember correctly."

"Two?" Naia asked with knit brows.

"Mhm," the woman smiled, "Adrianna and Naia."

Naia froze. Daniel stared at the woman with surprised raised eyebrows. Johanna gaped.

"No, you must have me confused with someone else," Naia said finally.

"Oh, well, what a shame," the woman said, shaking her head and teetering away.

Daniel sat down and grabbed her hand. "You okay?"

"Yea, I'm fine," Naia replied, pulling her hand back. She returned her gaze to the window. Vandella and Rebecca's words bounced around her head.

" _Are you two related?"_

" _You guys have the same eyes."_

" _The shape you idiot."_

" _I guess you guys do kinda look alike…"_

Aeron's face appeared and Naia's eyes widened as the dots connected and formed a picture.

 _Adrianna?_

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Avengers Reminiscence Cemetery (The A.R.C.)_

 _2 Weeks Ago_

When Piper was younger, her parents used to say that everyone dealt with death differently. Her parents had died and she had dealt with it by training in Hydra. She didn't have a choice, she had been forced into it, but at least it took her mind off of the devils she called her parents' deaths. Dominic had died to. She dealt with his death a little differently. She cried herself to sleep when he died. She mourned him. She begged for whatever God there was to bring him back.

He never came back.

And now, Drew was dead. Charming, friendly, hilarious Drew was gone. Lachlan and Tamashi were missing. And Drew was dead. The remaining Challengers were gathered around a single grave in the Avengers Reminiscence Cemetery, where a wooden coffin was buried. Normally these types of things took days to organize, but it was S.H.I.E.L.D.

Piper had argued that they should wait until Tamashi and Lachlan returned. Coulson replied with a single look that explained that they might not have that chance. Lachlan and Tamashi might not come back. That was like a punch to the gut, but Piper shoved the thought aside so she could focus on the task at hand.

So she stood. Infront of Drew's grave. In a black dress. Crying.

Annaleise was at her side. Daedre had attended as well; he was less welcomed, but appreciated. The alien had barely spoken to the Challengers since his side-switch, but Piper somehow felt safer with him on their side. Lana had arrived with a bouquet of flowers to lay on Drew's grave. She was standing with Eleanor, an arm over the shorter girl's shoulders. It amazed Piper at the massive height difference the two had, even though they stood at only a year apart.

The acclaimed Daniel Rand was there as well. He wore an expensive suit just like Spencer. Spencer had gotten a new suit, quite a bit nicer than the tux he wore to Rand's party, but he didn't marvel at its tailoring. Piper knew for a fact that Spencer had taken Drew's death just as badly (if not worse).

He hadn't slept the previous night, not that many of the team members did, and his eyes held something new in them. It didn't seem like revenge or remorse…it was the kind of look that a soldier gained after going into war, entering hell and coming back again. He hadn't reacted well, not in the slightest. But the thing is, he didn't show it either.

Piper honestly couldn't tell if he was affected in the least. She knew he was, of course he was, but he had never shed a tear. Not one. Piper's theory? He couldn't release it. Not yet. Not if Drew was looking down on him from somewhere up there. Spencer had always been that way. He was the protective brother, but he hid it away until he needed it. Now was one of those times.

Pat on the other hand had become as chatty as ever. Talking about how they would save Drew. They would get him back. They would find Tamashi and Lachlan and all of them would fix Drew. They could use "some crazy voodoo or whatever" as she had put it.

The ceremony had been peaceful, serene, not at all like Drew's personality but definitely what he would have wanted. Piper choked out a few words. Annaleise spoke in Spencer's place, as he was obviously not feeling up to it. Pat grumbled to herself on how none of this would be needed in a few days when they rescued Drew. Eleanor spoke a bit in Lachlan and Tamashi's place, saying what she thought they would say in the situation. Daedre spoke about honor and Drew's sacrifice. Lana placed her bouquet on the grave at the end of the ceremony.

But as Piper walked away angered. Not a boiling anger, or a ferocious knawing anger, or a violent anger. More of an annoyed anger, or an annoyed frustration. She was frustrated and no one could fix it. It was too late to fix her frustration. Why was she frustrated?

Because no matter what Drew had done. The pain he had gone through at Hydra, the friendliness he had brought to the team, his ceaseless humor, his cunning one liners, his oh-so-gorgeous ability to cheer up anyone at any time. He wouldn't be remembered for any of that. He got his place in the A. because he had died a hero. And that was the terrible tragedy of heroes.

They were only remembered after they had died.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Unknown Location_

He's floating. Everything feels light all of the sudden. He doesn't know why. Where is he? Does he have a home? Is _this_ his home? Hold on a minute, why is everything so dark? And cold. It smells like soil. Wet soil. Damp earth. And wood. Something smells of wood. What's the annoying white light? Why can't he reach it? It's just out of reach. His fingers could skim it if he could move, but movement is out of the equation. His body is frozen, trapped in this wooden cage.

He should be able to reach it though, if he tries. It's warm and welcoming. Maybe something's wrong…Something is wrong. He isn't frozen, or paralyzed, something… _someone_ is holding him back. It's not letting him touch the light. He wants to touch the light. That's how people die. Walking into the ligh—

Oh. He must be dead then. No, wait, he's not dead. He can still smell and hear. But he can't move. He must be _dying_. That would explain why everything is numb and why he can't move. It still doesn't explain why he can't touch the light. Why can't he die? All of it is confusing. It's hurting his head. It's dark and cold, and his head hurts.

Whatever was holding him back just arrived. He felt it, like a sharp pain. It's part of him now. He doesn't know what _it_ is. But whatever it is, it didn't want him to die. It doesn't want his life to be over. So it must be good, right? It wasn't there before. No, wait, it wasn't the confusion that was hurting his head. It was _it_. _It_ was hurting his head. But what was _it?_

Well, whatever _it_ was, it was part of him now.

 **And so ends Children of Hydra Part 1. :)**

 **So the prologue and information for Part 2 will be posted in a little while. What will Part 2 be about? Well, you'll just have to wait and see.**

 **Let me know what your theories are about what's to come and what just happened. :) Also, in case anyone's wondering, the last unknown POV was supposed to be confusing because that person is extremely confused. Who that mysterious POV is? Well, I'll give you a hint: don't go to the obvious.**

 **Till next time!**

 **-AG**


	23. Part 2 -- Information

Part 2

 **Hey hey everybody! As promised this is** _ **ALL**_ **of the information on Part 2 of Children of Hydra. :)**

Information you need to know:

~ It will be a separate story labeled _Students of S.H.I.E.L.D._

~ The next part WILL focus on the characters seen in Part 1.

~ The allies will get more of the spotlight

~ There will be a lot of intended confusion and tons of mystery

~ I'm hoping to throw all of you off. So keep your eyes out for hints on what's to come. :)

 **With that, I will adjust this chapter as needed if I find out that I've forgotten something. Keep an eye out for the second story in the Children of Hydra series because the prologue should be posted sometime today. :)**

 **Sincerely, AsgardianGrizzly**


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